Reality or Fantasy?
by Hotaru Layla
Summary: okay, im sorry but i havent updated in two years, hopefully i will get back to this story at some point and will continue it, but i just need to find the idsc to the rest of the chapters... i am so sorry- especially to earthluva for not replying back!
1. My Christmas Wish

**This idea might seem familliar, but the story is going to be totaly- er... a lot- different. This is my very first fanfic so please be gentle. =)**_**

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_**Chapter 1:**_

**My Christmas Wish**

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* * *

_

_Dear Santa Clause,_

_Santa, you have given me many gifts for Christmas these last 14 Christmases, and I haven't properly thanked you. I really appreciate the gifts. You work really hard throughout the year for this one night. I applaud you. And the elves and reindeer._

_Have you heard that **Yu-Gi-Oh!** is more popular than ever this year? I myself have gotten excited about this wonderful, amazing TV show and card series. Because of this, I ask you for only one thing: **Yu-Gi-Oh!** cards. As many as you can get! That is all I ask._

_Thank you for making these past Christmases a joy for my family and thank you for all your hard work. Say hi to the elves and reindeer for me!_

_Delightfully yours,_

_Erica Stevenson__

* * *

_

A girl walked along the edge of the North Coast in Maine. It was December 13, a Saturday. A brisk breeze blew serenely. The gentle wind lifted her blond hair in the direction the gust was blowing ever so slightly.

She wore a white sweater with a drawstring hood, black jeans, and white winter boots. A black beret sat atop her head.

The coast smoothly started uphill. When the lonesome girl was at the peak, she stood at the edge of the cliff and looked down at the ocean below.

She had a bottle in her hand. A usual alcohol bottle which she had found in a trashcan in town. She took a piece of paper from her right pocket, rolled it up, and dropped it into the bottle. She took a cork out of her left pocket and shoved it into the mouth-hole of the beer container until she was sure that it was good, tight, and waterproof.

She often did this. She didn't know why. She knew she was polluting, something she often frowned upon, but she knew that this bottle would be picked up by the one person she was sending the letter inside to.

Since she was a little kid, her parents would let her put a message in a bottle and send it by the ocean. She was against littering then too so she would designate a certain time to when she'd do it. Christmas time. Her letter to Santa was in that bottle. Why use a computer when you could recycle a useless beer bottle?

She dropped the bottle into the ocean. Now to give the address the bottle needed to be carried to. "To Saint Nicholas, North Pole." I whispered.


	2. It's Christmas!

**Hey, look, a longer chapter! Woo! It's also not as dramatic and serious... **

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* * *

**__**Chapter 2**_

_**It's Christmas!**_

"Hey! Erica! Over here!" I was at school and it was lunchtime. My best friend, Aeron Dwyn, was calling me over to our lunch table.

I headed over to the lunch table. As I sat down I saw that Aeron had a **Yu-Gi-Oh!** deck out on the table.

She saw me looking at it and told me: "I got some new cards! Wanna see?"

"Sure!" I loved looking at cards, whether they were mine or somebody else's.

"I've got two new effect monsters, a normal monster, a spell, and a trap."

"You know you don't have to say 'effect monster' and 'normal monster' around me. On the top right?" I said as I grabbed her deck. I took off the top five cards and took a sneak peak at them.

I gaped at the cards. "Pretty cool, huh? I know only one is rare but-"

"YOU HAVE THE TRAP CARD **FORCED CEASEFIRE**!! I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR THAT!" I screamed this so loud the whole cafeteria went silent. Everyone looked at me. "Hello." I said.

The other kids laughed. I, too, laughed, but weakly. _How embarrassing!_

The principal, who was unfortunately in the room at that time, walked over to us and motioned me to follow him to his office.

* * *

"So how'd it go?" Aeron asked me as we walked home together.

"Same ol', same ol'. I swear! He gives me the same speech everyday! Why does he even try! Shouldn't he understand by now that it's impossible to keep my voice down when I'm talking about **Yu-Gi-Oh! **'If you do it again, you'll be in I.S.S or your parents will be called.' Like they care! They're _professional duelists_! They would understand about my yelling! And another thing…"

"Hey, Erica," Aeron cut me short (I suppose my ranting was annoying her), "What did you ask Santa for Christmas?" Aeron didn't believe in Santa Claus, but she respected my trust in him.

"Huh." I snapped back to earth.

"You. Christmas List. Santa." She said in funny voice.

"Oh. Oh! Oh, that's easy. **Yu-Gi-Oh!** cards."

"May I see your list, read it I mean."

"Why?"

"I wanted to see if you wrote like you act and speak this time. Or did you make yourself sound mature, respectful, calm, and all-around generic?"

"Mature, respectful, calm, and all-around generic." I said bluntly.

Aeron rolled her eyes at me.

* * *

It was December 20, four days after many sailors at sea saw a lone bottle with a letter in it floating out in the ocean, and one of Santa's elves was walking out around the perimeter of the North Pole, as was his job. He was ordered to see if any bottles were drifting around the sides of the North Pole because usually some would.

These bottles, Santa knew, were usually sent either by poor kids without a computer or some odd kids. One of these odd children was little Erica Stevenson, who wasn't actually little but a young, thirteen year old girl.

Erica wasn't an odd child in the way you'd first assume though. She was of another "race". No, not meaning Africans or Chinese. "Race" as in somewhat _alien_.

Have you heard of Atlantis? Many children in our world are taught of Atlantis, and that it is myth. It was a utopia people lived in happily and without problems.

But no one can stand living that way for long. They got bored. So they, with science and advanced technology, found a new world. But seeing its imperfectness, they returned home. How did people live like that?

They began visiting the world though. It was fun to take a vacation there. But portals were so hard to keep track of, small or big, so they created a type of injection that would give you the power to inter-dimensionally travel. Soon, a new breed of Atlantians was produced. Ones that could, well, inter-dimensionally travel. Although, they were still pure Atlantian.

Many think that when Atlantis sank into the ocean, the people either drowned, and the culture and race wiped out, or turned into mermaids and mermen. The first choice is half true. Many people did drown, but a few left the city before it happened.

To make a long story short, there are still some with Atlantian blood in them and Erica was one of them.

Santa knew all this. How? The elf didn't know.

Just then, the elf dressed in green and jingle bells saw something floating in the water. A bottle.

"Aha!" the elf snatched it up and ran toward Santa's Workshop.

* * *

"So you found a bottle, eh, Pinky?" Santa stopped checking his list to open the bottle, pull out the message, and open the note.

_Dear Santa…_

He read.

"Ah. It's from Erica." The fat man said as he finished reading the letter.

"What does she want?" Pinky asked.

"**Yu-Gi-Oh! **cards."

"Typical. No kid ever wants the classic toys anymore. Oh, how I miss making those dollies with the curly, red hair; the freckles; the big, brown eyes; and the pretty, frilly, pink dresses with shoes to match. And it is an enjoyable memory about making those shining, red wagons with big wheels." Pinky said in a high voice, but it was a low voice for an elf.

"Quit it, Pinky. You're starting to sound as generic as Erica." Saint Nicolas chuckled.

"Hey, she might be a big drama queen at times, but I sound nothing like her."

"You're both crazy, you know that?"

"Humph."

"Anyway, she's thirteen now. Don't you think she's old enough?"

"For what, Santa?"

"For this." Santa reached into the depths of his desk and pulled out a golden box with various markings on it.

"What is it?" Pinky asked.

"Her destiny." The saint murmured.

* * *

"MOM! DAD! WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

"Erica. It's five A.M. We need more sleep. We didn't go to bed early like you did last night."

I was getting annoyed. I slid up on their bed, got in the center of the mattress, and jumped up and down. "Well, you should have! My faith in Santa wavers every time you do that! And you _know_ I always wake up at five o'clock _every_ Christmas morning! So you should be ready! WAKE UP!"

"Okay, okay, we're getting up." Dad said, sleepily.

"I thought you were going to sleep in since you just got off for Christmas Break three days ago." Mom shook herself awake.

"C'mon!" I said. My excitement was so great that not even an elephant can contain it. Mom rubbed her eyes to clear them of the blur. She saw me dancing out of the room singing Christmas carols. I was in my pajamas, my hair was so messed up it looked a million times worse than a rats nest, and I hadn't brushed my teeth yet.

"Erica! Get dressed and brush your hair and teeth!" she yelled.

"Nyeh?? What was that? I couldn't hear ya! I was too busy being American!" I called back.

"Oh my-! Don't tell me. **Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged**?"

"Yeppidydoodah!"

With Mom and Dad finally in the living room, I dove for the stockings. I handed Mom her stocking, Dad his, and kept mine.

Mom found candy, nuts, and fruit in her stocking along with a small bottle of perfume.

In Dad's, there was fruit and nuts and a pair of socks. "Santa must be playing a prank on me." Dad said holding up the socks. I laughed hysterically.

Last was mine. I didn't need to stick my hand down into the stocking. Some stuff was sticking out of it. **Yu-Gi-Oh!** card packages were sticking out. There were about ten packages in all! Also inside was candy! I laid the candy and card packages out to the side (I was a bit more neatly with those).

Wait. There was more in the stocking. A bottle of French perfume, make-up (from France), a Blue-eyes White Dragon necklace, fluffy Kuriboh earrings, and a $25 dollar gift card to the nearest **Yu-Gi-Oh!** store… AWESOME!

I crawled over to the presents under the tree. There were five. One for Mom, one for Dad, and three for me.

Dad opened his. "Awesome! RockBand! Love that game!" It was kind of scary to think of an adult playing a children's video game, but I remembered that adults play children's card games too.

Mom opened her present to find some sewing patterns. She smiled.

And thus, I began to open my first present. It was a big box, so I guessed it was a big present. It was a big, pink Kuriboh pillow! I squealed and hugged it. In my next present, I discovered a Jonas Brothers CD. But the last present was most intriguing. When I opened the box, after tearing off the paper, I pulled out a golden box with various markings on it.

"What is it?" Mom and Dad asked simultaneously.

"I.d.k." I replied.


	3. Merry Chrismas Yugi!

**Chapter 3!! This one introduces Yugi and the gang! Yay! =D**

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Merry Christmas Yugi!**_

Yugi Motto was still asleep. Dreaming about card games, he was. Even though, it was Christmas morning.

_Ring!_

"Grandpa, could you get the phone?" he murmured. "I'm in the middle of a duel."

_Ring, ring!!_

"Grandpa! The phone! I can't let Kaiba win! I gotta kick his sorry butt like I do all the time!"

_Ring, ring, RING!!!_

"Grandpa! The phone is ringing! Answer it!" Yugi, who was finally annoyed and awake, got out of bed to answer the- "DANG PHONE! Who calls this early in the morning… it's five o'clock!"

Just then, Grandpa Motto was bounding down the stairs with a blue cape billowing behind him. "The phone. The phone is ringing. The phone… will be the dare!" he sang.

"It's alright Grandpa. I got it." Yugi said to him.

"Oh," Grandpa Motto sounded- and was- disappointed, "alright." He climbed back up the stairs singing the Wonder Pets theme.

"I told Tea it was a bad idea to let him watch Wonder Pets, but did she listen to me? No." Yugi muttered as he picked up the phone. "Hello, Game Shop."

"_Yoog! Merry Christmas!"_

"Joey! I thought you'd still be asleep!"

"_Nah. Couldn't sleep. I tried to see the big guy last night, I dozed off. Then I woke up twenty minutes later. Couldn't go back to sleep."_

"Well, did you get anything from Santa?"

"_Yeah! A lot! Did you check your stocking yet?"_

"No. I'll check it now."

"_Hold up. Let me get the others. We'll come over while ya do it."_

"Joey, they're probably still asleep."

"_So what'cha point?"_

"Just call them."

"_Kay! See ya!"_

"Bye!"

Walking back up to his bedroom to get dressed, Yugi thought, _Without the Pharaoh here, my friends and family seem so strange._

* * *

"Yugi, your sixteen, and you still believe in Santa Claus?" Tristan asked.

"You don't believe, Tristan?" Yugi answered as he opened one of his presents that were under the tree.

"Yugi, my parents told me…"

Yugi cut him short. "Did your parents tell you that ancient Egyptian Pharaohs don't come back to the human world from magical items and that card game monsters weren't and aren't real?"

"I see your point."

Yugi was about to open his last present under the tree when he got this strange and powerful shiver down his spine. His vision also went a bit blurry.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Tea asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I-"

Before he could say anything else, the doorbell rang. "I got it." Joey leaped up from his position on the couch and sprinted down the hallway to the shop's front door.

"Joey?"

"Sorry we're… HOLY ELF!"

Right in front of Joey stood Yugi. But this Yugi was a bit taller. His voice a bit deeper. His hair had blond highlights. Could it be…?

"Is everything alright Joey?" Yugi, Tea, and Tristan bounded up behind him. And in that order, they each spoke one word.

"Atem?"

"Atem?"

"Pharaoh?"

* * *

"How the heck did you get here?" Yugi yelped with joy.

"Yeah, didn't ya go into the spirit world or somethin'?" Joey added.

"I thought I did," Atem explained, "but it didn't seem long after I got there, that I was put back here in front of your door."

"Why are you here?" Tristan wondered.

"I honestly don't know the exact reason. But I heard this booming voice say that there is one last thing he wanted me to do before I had my permanent stay." Atem said.

"Heaven, I guess, will have to wait for you." Tea began to tear up with joy. She always cried at reunions.

Yugi criss-crossed his legs into his chair (they were back in the living room at this point). He was so excited that Yami was back. He had a funny feeling that something bad was about to happen though. Why would the ancient Egyptian come back if there wasn't?

"How long has it been since I left anyway?" Atem asked breaking through Yugi's thoughts.

"Only six months." Yugi answered.

"Wow. I though it'd be three years. Although, if it was, you'd have probably grown at least an inch." Atem joked.

"HEY!"


	4. Bakura Meet Bakura Again

**Yay! Yami Bakura and Ryou are in this chapter!!!! ;)**

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**__**Chapter 4**_

_**Bakura Meet Bakura… Again**_

"We wish you a merry Christmas; we wish you a merry Christmas; we wish you a merry Christmas… and a happy New Year!" Ryou Bakura sang softly. He was making himself breakfast.

Ryou always enjoyed spending the holiday mornings alone before heading over to his friend, Yugi's, house. He needed _some_ peace and quiet before being in the loudness of a friend's house for nearly the whole night.

Ryou was a calm soul. But his friends were crazy. How he could have friends like that, he didn't know. But he was glad he did.

_Ding-dong!_

"Ah, bugger, doorbell." Ryou said a bit irritated. He guessed he wasn't going to get the peace and quiet he hoped.

He answered the door and to his surprise- "Hullo, Ryou." Bakura said with a smirk.

* * *

"GAH! GO AWAY YOU DEMON!" Ryou screamed.

He tried to slam the door shut, but Bakura just held it open with his foot.

"What's the matter Ryou? You not happy to see me?" Bakura sarcastically said.

"YES! THAT'S EXACTLY IT!" Ryou yelled and ran and hid in the broom closet.

He sat in the darkness. Waiting for Bakura to open the door and kill him. Nothing happened. Okay. A stinky sock fell on his face. But nothing else happened.

Then he heard something. "Is he raiding my refrigerator?" Ryou whispered.

He heard the TV turn on. "What the-?"

Ryou stood up, threw the sock off his face, and opened the door. Outside, in the living room, on the couch, laid Bakura eating a bag of chips, drinking some Mountain Dew, and watching The Little Mermaid on TV.

Ryou mouthed, "What the-?" He also had an extremely confused expression on his face.

Bakura saw his light looking at him funny and asked, "What?"

"So you're not going to kill me?" Ryou asked.

"I'm in a good mood, so not today."

"So you're going to raid my fridge, take a can of my Mountain Dew, and lay on my couch watching TV _uninvited_?"

"Yep. That's pretty much it."

"Excuse me; I need to make a call." A wide eyed Ryou picked up the phone and dialed a friend.

"_Hello, Game Shop." _Yugi answered.

"Yugi!" Ryou said.

"_Oh, hey, Bakura! What's up?"_

"He's back!"

"_Who's back?"_

"Bakura!"

"_WHAT! The tomb robber's back! Well, I guess it'd make sense since Atem's back too."_

"What? That's good. But what do I do about you-know-who?" Ryou looked over at Bakura who was focused on the movie he was watching.

Just then, Ryou heard voices in the background. Then he heard a yell. Then he heard the familiar voice of Atem.

"_Bakura! Are you alright? Did Bakura hurt you?"_

"Hi, Pharaoh, nice to talk to you too. And no, he… didn't." Ryou hesitated at the "didn't". Reason why: he hoped Bakura _wouldn't _hurt him.

"_What's he doing?"_

"Eating my chips, drinking my Mountain Dew, and watching The Little Mermaid on my TV." Ryou said bluntly.

He heard Joey in the background laughing hysterically. He also heard a conversation between Tea and Joey:

"_WHAT IS SO FUNNY JOEY? BAKURA COULD'VE HURT RYOU! IT WAS LUCKY HE DIDN'T!"_

"_Bakura's watching The __Little Mermaid__!"_

"_So?"_

"_IT'S DISNEY!"_

"_OH- MY- GOSH!"_

Ryou thought of asking the Pharaoh what the heck was going on but the chance passed too quickly.

"_Bakura,"_ Atem asked, _"why is he watching-?"_

"I don't know! What do I do!?" Ryou was getting frantic. He had a killer in his living room, on his couch, eating his chips, drinking his Mountain Dew, and watching his TV. What should he do!?!

Yugi took the phone from Yami and spoke. _"Leave him there and come on over for Christmas."_

That was a thought. "Do you really think that I trust him enough not to either ruin my house or mess with my stuff?"

"_Good point. Then bring him on over. I mean, it must be his first day back, what could he do?"_

"A lot."

"_Bakura…"_

"Can't I just send him to the pound?"

"_He ain't a dog." _Joey had taken over then.

"Only if he promises to be good." Ryou decided. It would be safer if Bakura wasn't left alone. Then he had a thought. _Oh God! That means both the Pharaoh and Bakura will be together! _


	5. Answers

**Hi! It's me again. This is the longest chap. so far. Yay!! Marik, Ishizu, and Odion are introduced! YayX2!!!**

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**__**Chapter 5**_

_**Answers**_

"I thought you said we were going somewhere nice!" Bakura yelled. He was sitting in a chair in Yugi's living room.

"We are somewhere nice." Ryou said.

"Then why is _he _here?" Bakura acknowledged Atem with a scowl.

"Because this is where my light lives." Atem said in a "duh" tone.

"Whatever."

"Listen, we're here to find out what is going on. So can we please stop the fighting?" an exasperated Tea cut in.

"Tea's right." Yugi added. "So Bakura… um… evil Bakura… how did you get here in the human world?"

"Are you going to call me 'evil Bakura' the whole time I'm here?" Bakura said, looking bored. He really did not want to be there.

"We'll call Ryou 'Ryou' and you Bakura. How's that? Now answer the question." Tristan just wanted Bakura out of there. He didn't really like the Thief King.

Bakura gave Tristan a glare and said: "I don't have to do what you say."

"Bakura you promised!" Ryou scolded.

"I take back that promise. I don't have to listen to these stupid, idiotic morons."

"Go to hell!" that made Joey mad. Yugi would normally admonish Joey for this, but he quite agreed at this moment.

"Already did. I got kicked out. I, apparently, was too nice for _them_. And Beelzebub didn't really like me."

"He don't like anybody." Tea said bluntly.

"So you're still dead?" Ryou asked.

"No, I was given another chance. At least, that was what a booming voice from the sky told me."

"You're not doing well at it, are you?" Tea and Yugi thought that God had his hopes _way_ to high for this one.

Bakura shrugged. "He also told me that He would send me back if I didn't do as I was told."

"What He tell you to do then?" Atem asked with a hint of interest in his voice.

"To follow the instructions He would send to us."

"_Us?_" everyone inquired with an inkling of confusion.

"Who do you think I am? Solomon? I don't know the answer to everything!"

"So He didn't explain any further?"

"Nope."

They sat there in silence for a moment. Yugi was thinking._ What instructions? This is more confusing than when we had to figure out what the Pharaoh's name was back in his memories!_

Back when Atem was still a part of Yugi, the people who would tell them the answers to these kinds of things was Ishizu, Marik (the good Marik), and Odion. Well, Odion never said much, but he agreed with the other two. So maybe, just maybe, they could answer this riddle.

"How 'bout," Yugi instigated.

"You call Ishizu and Marik?" Atem finished.

"How'd you?"

"I think our connection is still there."

"I really hope you don't-"

"Start finishing all your sentences?" Atem joked.

"Oh great." Yugi walked over to the phone.

"Wow. I never knew you could actually bug the brat, Pharaoh." Bakura said with amazement.

"I rarely pick on him, but when I do, it usually is when it bugs him the most." Atem smirked at this. Yugi could be fun to annoy but the reaction would get boring if you did it to much. Atem knew that from watching Joey and Tristan pick on Yugi while he was in the puzzle.

Yugi dialed the number Marik gave him all those months ago, hoping he had the right number. He also hoped the Ishtars knew how to use a phone by now.

"_Hello, Ishtar residence."_ came a familiar female voice from the phone.

"Ishizu! It's me, Yugi!"

"_Yugi! Nice to talk to you! It's been a while, hasn't it?"_

"Six months."

"_So, how is your Christmas going?"_

"Great…ish. It's kind of confusing, odd, and frustrating actually."

"_That really doesn't sound great."_

"Well, it was going great."

"_What happened?"_

"Then it got crazy."

"_That doesn't help."_

"Sorry. It's just… should I tell you the whole story?"

"_That would probably help."_

"Well, my day was going normal and good, and then it got great when Atem showed up."

"_The Pharaoh is BACK!!!" _Ishizu shouted. Yugi then heard muffled voices in the background. Apparently Odion and Marik heard that and had gotten excited.

Marik had taken the phone then. _"Is it true Yugi? Is he back?"_

"Yes."

"_Let me guess, the crazy part that you told Ishizu about is when Bakura showed up?"_

"How'd you?"

"_We found a new prophecy today."_

"Wow. I'm glad I called you."

"_Thank you."_

"So what does it say?"

"_A lot."_

"… That really doesn't help."

"_Think you can wait for us to fly over there? There's too much to talk about over the phone."_

"Alright. How long will that take?"

"_About fourteen hours."_

"Okay, it's six-thirty, so you'll be here around eight-thirty-nine o'clock. Right?"

"_Right."_

"So see ya then."

"_See ya!"_

Yugi hung up the phone and dashed into the living room. "Okay, I…"

"Called Ishizu?" Atem finished. Yugi gave him a look but he just couldn't resist. A few more times couldn't hurt.

"Yes. And she, well, Marik said that this was in-"

"A prophecy?"

"Would you quit finishing my…"

"Sentences?" Atem chuckled.

"UUUGGGHHH!!!!" Yugi took a deep breath. Atem was just pulling his leg. His darker half always knew what annoyed him most. "Marik told me that they were-"

Atem opened his mouth to finish the sentence but Yugi finished it for him. "GOING-TO-COME-HERE-AND-THAT-THEY-WILL-BE-HERE-IN-FOURTEEN-HOURS! HA!" (He said this really fast.)

Atem put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm impressed Pharaoh." Bakura said looking at the panting Yugi. "You actually tired him out."

"I just couldn't…" Atem began.

"Resist?" Yugi simpered.

"Oh, boy."

* * *

Fourteen hours passed in flash and it was already nine o'clock. The Ishtars were no where to be found.

"It's already nine o'clock and they're _still _not here?" Bakura complained.

"Quit mumblin'!" Tristan was tired of hearing the tomb robber nitpick about everything.

"I have better things to do than wait for those-!"

"Like what?" Ryou cut Bakura off. Bakura tried to think up a lie. He really didn't have anything better to do.

"Um… uh… I… uh…"

"Wow! That sounds interesting!" Atem said sarcastically.

Bakura gave him a death glare. He liked the old Pharaoh better. He was serious and earnest. This one was abrading.

"Hey, where's Tea?" Yugi piped up. He needed to change the subject… and fast!

"Probably shopping." Joey answered.

"Girls like to shop." Tristan added.

"Yeah, that's why I got her a gift certificate to Maurice's for Christmas." Ryou revealed.

"Please tell me you ordered that and didn't go into the shop to buy it." Bakura pleaded. He was against men going into women's shops. It was just wrong.

"I went in and got it." Ryou admitted.

"You are a brave soul, hikari." Bakura said, wide-eyed.

"I really don't see how I was brave for doing that."

"It's a girl's shop!" Yugi agreed with Bakura. It just didn't feel right going into a girl's shop. There are no other guys around! It's just weird.

"I kinda liked it in there." Ryou confessed without guilt. "It smelled nice."

There was a pause. The other guys didn't exactly know what to say to this.

"It… smelled nice?" Atem ventured.

"Yeah," Ryou declared matter-of-factly, "like Rhododendron and Baby's Breath."

Bakura, Yugi, Atem, Tristan, and Joey just looked at him like he was crazy.

"What the heck is _Rhododendron_?" Joey finally asked.

"Oh it's a type of flower that…" Ryou began, but Bakura cut him off.

"That's why you… if anyone asks, I don't know you."

"Well, another reason why I liked it in there is that I got three girls phone numbers." Ryou reported.

The blokes gaped at him. Maybe going into a woman's shop wasn't so bad.

"Hey, uh, Ryou…" Joey began.

"If you want one of their numbers, the answer's no." Ryou answered.

"But you don't need three girl's numbers." Joey reasoned.

"I have a one in three chance of getting a girlfriend here! So I'm keeping them!"

* * *

Tea was glad she had a friend like Ryou. Maurice's was her favorite shop. So everything she bought in that store, she whispered a thanks to Ryou.

She bought a cute, silver party dress with a gold belt, silver heels, a gold headband, a silver choker with a gold flower on it, and gold and silver bracelets.

Today was her lucky day too. Because it was Christmas, they let her wear the completed outfit out the store! She carried her other clothes in a bag, by the way.

Thank goodness that the store was inside a large, heated mall, or, when she left the store, Tea would've froze. Winters were harsh in Domino, summers- not so much.

The skimpy outfit wouldn't provide much warmth, so she brought a long coat with her. Before she could put it on, she saw someone familiar. She had an Egyptian looking dress and headdress on, same for shoes, but a modern day, thick, blue coat on. Ishizu!

"Ishizu, I told you to put something warmer on for our trip here." Odion said.

"Who knew winter could be so cold!" Ishizu shivered.

"Anyone who spent longer than a few weeks out of Egypt." Marik laughed.

"Well, excuse me for staying where I belong. Now, does anyone know where Yugi's house is? I've never been there."

"Neither have we." Odion retorted.

Tea, overhearing the conversation and excited to see old friends, called over to them waving. "Ishizu! Marik! Odion!"

The three looked over in Tea's direction. "Tea!" the three exclaimed in unison.

Tea ran over to them. "Hey! How's it going?"

"Tea, you look nice." Marik said seeing what she was wearing. "Isn't it a bit cold out for that though?"

"Oh, thank you. I just bought this." She said. "I have a coat." She held up the long black coat.

"Oh. Hey, do you know… well of course you know; would you show us the way to Yugi's house?"

"Sure. I was just heading there myself." Tea smiled.

* * *

"I never got the concept of Pokemon. I mean, it's a stupid name really. Po-key-mon."

"Joey, it stands for Pocket Monster."

"You seem to know a lot about it Yoog."

"Not really, that's all I know."

At that juncture, the boys heard a small bell ring from the front of the shop. They knew that Tea had come back for she had walked right into the living room not long after.

"Hey!" she said with a _huge _smile.

"Hi!" the boys said, well, all except Bakura, who just scowled at her.

"Guess what." Tea said with an even bigger smile on her face.

"You got asked out by a cool guy?" Joey asked.

"No." Tea's smile ever so slightly shrunk.

"You found a neat outfit at the mall?" Ryou guessed.

"Well, yes, but no." Tea's smile shriveled to a straight line.

"You got movie tickets for all of us?" Yugi hoped. He didn't tell anybody, but he secretly really wanted to see the new Disney movie: The Princess and the Frog. So he really wanted movie tickets to it.

"Ugh. You guys are really bad at guessing. Let's try this again. When I ask 'guess what', you say 'what'. Got it? So, guess what."

"What?" the boys asked in unison, Bakura rolled his eyes.

"I found some old friends at the mall!"

"Like who?" Joey solicited.

"It's not Rebecca, is it?" Yugi asked in a worried tone. He had just recently broken up with Rebecca. She wasn't too happy about it either. So he thought it best to stay as far away from her as possible. If he wanted to live, and, of course, he did.

"No, the last time we saw them was six months ago." Tea hinted.

The boys looked clueless.

Tea sighed, "It's Marik, Ishizu, and Odion."

The mood had brightened tremendously in the room. The three Egyptians had come into the room and sat down and told their story.

* * *

"Eh? I don't get it." Joey scratched the back of his head. He really didn't get it.

"It's just as the prophecy said: A person with tremendous power with come from another dimension to save our world, with the help of the King of Games and the great ancient Pharaoh." Odion repeated.

"So, we're just back-ups this time?" Yugi pointed at Yami and himself. He was a little disappointed. Saving the world was _his _thing.

"Well, yeah." Marik gave a reassuring smile. It didn't really help Yugi.

"Ha! Apparently the Pharaoh isn't as popular anymore." Bakura laughed.

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" Atem responded.

"Besides, I didn't even hear anything about _you_." Tristan directed the statement at Bakura in a slightly rude manner.

Bakura thought for a moment. _What about me?_ He thought.

"The prophecy implies that he helps also." Ishizu explained.

"WHAT! I don't _save _the world, I _destroy _it. What makes you think I'll help you?" an outraged Bakura hollered.

"What about that second chance?" Tea reminded him.

Bakura humph-ed.

"Don't you like living again? _With your own body?_" she persisted.

"… I have a better plan; how about you save the world and I just lay on Ryou's couch and watch TV?" Bakura usually never reverted to making compromises, but it was either a compromise or saving the world. If you were a Thief King, which would you choose?

"What're you gonna watch? The Little Mermaid Two?" Ryou said.

While the others laughed, Bakura gave Ryou a death glare that said: "If you say something like that again, I'll kill you." It didn't scare Ryou one bit though.

"No, I'm afraid that you can't do that." Marik gasped. He laughed really hard at Ryou's statement. It really didn't sound like the Tomb Robber he had joined forces with during Battle City.

"And why not?" Bakura posed with a bit of attitude.

"Because you're not." Ryou was getting annoyed with his darker half's attitude.

"When did I ever do what you say?"

"Never, but you're gonna start. I'm sick and tired of your attitude. If you don't start straightening up, I'm gonna do something drastic!"

Everybody just stared at Ryou when he said this; it wasn't like him to have an outburst like that.

Bakura didn't know whether or not to take him seriously. "Um… okay?"

"Anyway, when's all this supposed to happen?" Tea asked.

Marik thought on that. The prophecy didn't give an exact time, so he just supposed soon, since the Pharaoh and Bakura were already here.

"If I had to guess, within a few months, at the most." He assumed

"That soon?"

"I guess."

For the rest of the evening, they discussed the topic. Sadly, not Marik, Ishizu, or Odion knew when or where all this was going to take place. But, they answered to the best of their ability.


	6. Aeron's Odd Christmas Gift

**Finally! Got it up! Hey, tells a little bit of Aeron's life away from Erica. Tells more about her too.**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 6**_

_**Aeron's Odd Christmas Gift**_

Aeron never believed in Santa. But the gift she received Christmas day kind of swayed her into believing. She received a small, ruby pyramid. It even had that eye on it like Yugi's Millennium Puzzle did in **Yu-Gi-Oh!**

She and her aunt, whom she lived with, had even checked if the ruby was real or just red glass, it was real ruby.

"Are you sure you didn't get me this?" she had asked Aunt Petunia.

"I know I didn't get you that. I didn't even know it existed." Aunt Petunia clarified.

"So, does this prove-?"

"I think it does."

* * *

"_All I really want is to get away- can anybody tell me- how much longer- till I'm done- how much longer- wanna feel the sun- how much longer- I can't wait- how much longer- till I can play that game!" _I sang. _How Much_ _Longer_ was one of my favorite songs from the **Yu-Gi-Oh!** movie. The artist: I have no idea. But I love 'em!

_BBRRIINNGG! _The phone cried.

"Nyeh." I hate it when the phone rings. Right when I was in my _zone_, too.

I put my hairbr-ahem- microphone down and walked over to the phone.

_BBBRRRIIINNNGGG!!_

"I'm coming! I'm coming!"

_BBBBRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!!!_

"DANG! … Hello, Erica speaking."

"_I hope I didn't interrupt something." _The teasingly voice Aeron approached.

"Oh, hey! Eh, no!" I said cheerily.

"_O.k. It must've been one of the following: A. you were organizing your collection and/or dueling decks. B. you were dancing around your room singing into a hairbrush to __**Yu-Gi-Oh! **__songs. Or C. you were talking with your boyfriend who is at your house at this very moment."_

"No, yes, and YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW I DON'T DATE!"

"_Hehe. Just kidding about that last one, but I _knew _you were doing one of the first two."_

"How so?"

"_I heard you scream at the phone! You always do that when you're either singing or concentrating on _anything _**Yu-Gi-Oh! **__You hadn't even picked up the phone too!"_

Well, that's a tad embarrassing. "Er… so, why'd you call? What happened? Wh-wait! Let's answer that in quick answer formation."

"_That made no sense whatsoever."_

"Good or bad?"

"_Huh?"_

"Is the reason good or bad?"

"_Erica? How much __**Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged**__ have you watched today?" _Aeron snickered. (**Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged **makes me hyper, that's why she asked. Apparently, I was acting a tad bit hyper.)

"Just answer the question!" I said in an extremely weird voice. You'd think I was voicing a character from _Flapjack_ or _Chowder_.

"_That proves it. And, I don't exactly know… uh… Erica… you there?"_

I had paused here. My quick answer plan couldn't really function with _I don't know_s.

"_EEERICAAAA?"_

"Just tell me what you want to tell me." I resolved calmly.

"_That was a bit out of character. Well… it's just… how bout I come over and show you?"_

"Um… sure… why not?"

"_Great! So, see you in thirty minutes!"_

"Th-th-thirty minutes! Wait, WAIT A SEC! YOU'RE COMING OVER TODAY! I'M NOT SURE MY PARENTS-!"

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard the buzzing off the phone. She hung up.

"Will allow it. Ah, who am I kidding! They don't care!" I slammed the phone down and put something other than my pajamas on so I didn't look too ridiculous and predictable.

* * *

"Oh, hello Aeron. Didn't know you were coming over today." My mom answered the door. Aeron walked inside and headed up to my room after she gave my mom a smile and a nod that said "Well, I did".

Aeron made up her way to my room. When she turned the doorknob to let herself in, though, she found it locked.

"Hm. That's funny." Aeron suddenly heard something coming out of my room. A voice. It sounded like… Kaiba?? Wait! The **Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged **version of Kaiba!! I was watching that show again. _Shoulda known_… Aeron thought.

"_Oooh! I'm a ghost! Wooo-" _The "ghost Kaiba" said. Since Aeron was eavesdropping through my door, the sound was a little muffled. _Hmm… episode seven… she must be repeating the series… again. _Aeron thought.

Next came a voice that any **Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged **fan would know as Yami/Atem, but it sounded extremely different from the normal version. _"Oh, stop it! You're not fooling anyone!"_

"_It's a ghost!" _said the abridged Tristan with the annoying voice.

Yami: _"Tristan doesn't count!"_

She, Aeron, then heard a laugh so shrill and loud and full of excitement that it made her fall over backwards.

"_Never gets old!!" _she heard me laugh.

Aeron realized that she would get nowhere by knocking on the door. For those of you who don't know, when I'm watching or listening to anything **Yu-Gi-Oh!** I won't hear anything. Our city could have the biggest earthquake in the history of the world, and I wouldn't even notice. (My towns located right over a major fault line… so that last hyperbole wouldn't be much of an exaggeration.)

With all that knowledge of me, myself, and I, anyone would know that _that _would be a big mistake. So, Aeron cleared her throat, did a short breathing exercise, and yelled this in a British accent: "Oh, bugger!"

The sound of the episode I was watching suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Yugi, can I be in this episode? OH, BUGGER!" she said in the same accent.

She could now tell that her friend, me, had quietly walked over to the door and put her, my (making sure you know), ear to the door. I tried to be as quiet as I could be. I didn't want to scare the abridged Ryou away. Ra, I am so gullible.

"Make way! Women and she-males first!" Aeron said.

At this, I cried out "Bakura!" and opened the door in a flash.

"Oh, it's just you." I dully and disappointedly said to my friend when I saw it was her and not Ryou Bakura.

"Merry Christmas! Something I didn't get earlier on the phone." She said with a smile.

"Neither did I," I replied.

Aeron walked into my room and flopped down on the bed.

"Come in?" I asked, she laughed. Typical Aeron.

I pulled my neon green beanbag over to the side of the bed and fell into its beanie-ness.

"Ok. So, what'cha want?" I asked.

It took Aeron a while to answer my question. She fiddled with one of the decorative tassels on the purple pillow I had on my bed as if she was deciding on how to respond.

I tilted my head slightly to the left as if in saying "well?"

After minutes of silence, she finally sighed. She was apparently having a tough time on how to start the conversation.

Aeron's eyes brightened- she must have found a way to say whatever she wanted to say- and she said, "What did Santa give you for Christmas?"

This took me by immediate surprise. Suspicious. "I thought you didn't believe in Santa."

"Yeah, but you do." She said quickly.

I thought no sense in asking why she was so serious when asking about this Santa-related subject (she usually has a smile on her face since she does not believe). I probably wouldn't get an answer anyway.

"Well," she said, still messing with my pillow, "what'd he give you?"

At the repeat of the question, the image of that golden box flashed inside my head. I had carefully hidden the thing out of sight in my closet. The moment I set eyes on it, it gave me the creeps. For some odd reason, it had a mystical pull to it. Like I was drawn to it. For that reason, it's in the closet.

"Oh, some **Yu-Gi-Oh! **stuff and some girly stuff you wouldn't be interested in." I said, completely avoiding the box.

"Anything odd?" Aeron inquired still holding my pillow. But she took her eyes off the cushion when she said this and looked at me with an expression that said she knew I was holding out.

I gulped. "W-well, n-now that you mention it…"

"Was it a pyramid?" she solicited eagerly. She had put the throw cushion down and was sitting bold upright, facing me with a look in her eye that screamed: "tell me!"

This kind of freaked me out. Not typical Aeron. In fact, quite the opposite. Aeron was a laid-back and tough sort of girl. Always has been and always will be. To see her act like this just wasn't right.

"No. It wasn't." I regained my composure from her little outburst and realized I was totally confused about her statement. "Why?"

Aeron was silent. She blinked at me a few times and regained her own composure.

Aeron, then, pulled out a small, ruby pyramid that was tiny enough to fit in the palm of her hand. It even had this gold mark on it that looked like the Millennium Mark, as I called it, on one of the faces.

"WOW! Is that real ruby?" I reached my hand out to touch it, eyes sparkling.

Aeron slapped my hand softly. "Ow." I said. It seemed that she didn't want me to touch it.

"Oh, that didn't hurt."

"Yes it did."

Aeron rolled her eyes.

A long silence followed. Aeron stared at her pyramid with somewhat interest. I stared at her. _She seems to like the object._ I thought. _Actually, she seems pretty fond of it. _

The icon of the box popped up again. _GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_ I thought-screamed. That means I thought it, but I screamed it in my head. Speaking of my head, I shook it while thought-screaming this. Then a thought came to mind.

_Odd. Very odd. We both get presents that are… ODD! But the difference between me and Aeron is that, I guess, she's more affectionate to hers than I am with mine. It's not that I hate it; it's just that it gives me the creeps. It seems to have a magnetic pull on me…_

I looked at the closet, then back at Aeron. I noticed something I hadn't before.

Aeron held onto that pyramid tightly, and she just couldn't stop staring at it.

_Now that I think about it… it looks as if that pyramid is pulling her like that box is pulling me at this moment. But she isn't afraid of it…_

I smiled at that thought. Aeron. Afraid. The two really didn't fit together.

Suddenly, the hold the box had on me got even stronger. I was drawn to it. I felt compelled to go to the closet.

I made my decision. I'd show her the box. She shown me her pyramid, and I'll show her my box.

I stood up and walked over to my closet door. At the sudden movement, Aeron cut off her gaze of the pyramid and watched me.

My closet door was the sliding kind. So, I slid my door open and made my way to the back of the closet (walk-in closet)… which wasn't easy to do. My closet is extremely cluttered. **Yu-Gi-Oh! **things, **Yu-Gi-Oh! GX **things, other things, all possessed spaced in my was barely enough room for my clothes.

In a desolate, dark corner, on a lone shelf, in BackCloset, the box sat all alone. I picked it up and headed back to my room.

It took me a while to get out, even though the closet was only six by six and one-half feet in perimeter. I got lost twice, gotten stuck in piles of clothes and objects numerous times, tripped over an umbrella or two, got bitten by a pointy poster of Atem, and I could've sworn that old jacket wanted to eat me.

Well, enough of my adventures in my closet. When I _did_ get out, I walked over to my bed and sat down.

Aeron faced me and giggled. My hair was sticking out in all directions thanks to that accursed, woman-eating jacket in my closet.

I patted my hair down and gave her a glower. "You know how you asked me if Santa gave me anything odd? Well, he did. And here it is." I handed the box over to Aeron so she could get a look at it.

"That's funny." She remarked, "I swear it looks like the one Yugi had in the series."

Aeron handed the golden, rectangular box to me. I felt the various markings on its faces, gazed into the eye on one of the sides. I felt a power rouse within me as I did so. A power long hidden. Ready to escape. A strong power stirring deep within the dark crevices of my mind, my heart, my soul. A power dying to be released.

"I know." I mumbled.

"Have you tried opening it?"

The suddenness of Aeron's questions snapped me back to reality.

My face flushed slightly. I hadn't. In my defense, I had only got it this morning, but curiosity should've given me the impulse to open the treasure… but I was foolishly afraid. "No." I murmured almost too quietly… I was ashamed.

_Ashamed?_ A voice in my head said. _Why are you feeling ashamed? It's just a stupid box! So you didn't open it when you got it, and you still haven't. But that's no reason for being _ashamed_! _

As much as I wanted to except that reasoning, I just couldn't. Something about it just seemed wrong. I hadn't opened it. I was ashamed. Why? Because I had a feeling that whatever is in this little box was change my life.

"Well, why don't we open it now?" Aeron's familiar voice broke me from my stupor.

I just stared at her, mouth slightly agape. _Open it? _I didn't think I was ready. Heck. I still didn't think I was ready to get baptized yet. What makes her think I was ready to open the box? Wait. That was a bad example.

"Aeron," my mom had poked her head in the door, "your aunt's on the phone. She wants you home early so you can go with her to the jail house to say Merry Christmas to your father."

Aeron has a weird family, by the way. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father is a minor criminal. He would only do criminal activity, when Aeron was little, to keep her alive. Then it turned into habit and he couldn't stop himself. So now she lives with her aunt. The go visit him while he's "in the slammer", as Aeron calls it.

"All right." She said hopping off my bed. Aeron walked to the bedroom door and opened it. (My mom had closed the door and left already. She had dinner to make.) Before she left, though, she turned to me and said: "Don't open it till I come back. I'll be coming back sometime in the next couple of weeks anyway."

She turned and left. I sat on my bed in the same position I was in when she left for what seemed like eternity, even though it was only 20 minutes. Aeron's last words stayed in my head. I silently told her:

_And I wouldn't have it any other way._


	7. A Bit of Filler & Thoughts of Friendship

**Oh gosh, it's late! 3:20 AM. Here is a chapter that tells how Erica and Aeron became friends. Mentions a new friend. And a slight enemy. this chapter's main story revolves around the memories. Oh, before i forget: disclaimer: i own only the other characters made up in my head, i do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh! _Now on with the story! YAY!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 7**_

_**A Bit of Filler and Thoughts of Friendship**_

It had been two weeks since Christmas, two weeks since I last saw Aeron (at my house).

We both had been pretty busy. We each had so much to do for the coming New Year that we only had time to say "Happy New Year" over the phone.

Aeron had told me that when she visited her father on Christmas, the guard said he was due to be let out within three weeks of the New Year. She had been preparing since.

I had been preparing for a new club I was going to join. Heck. I'm starting it. I'm the president. It's the **Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Club **at our school. We never had one before. So I'm starting it with a good friend of mine, Eldred Portobello. He is the vice president.

The club is due to start in March. Ra, who knew that there was so much to be done to start a _fan club_?

* * *

It is January 8, 2010. And I am sitting in class waiting for the lunch bell to ring.

I yawned. Math was boring. I'd rather be asleep.

My mind started to wonder off. I started to daydream about **Yu-Gi-Oh!** I remembered the funny parts from the abridged series. I closed my eyes to get a better grasp on the images.

The next thing I know, I heard a loud _swack!_ right next to my eardrum. I woke up with a loud snort.

My hands shot up to my reddening face as the other students laughed.

Mr. Eglantine, my math teacher, silenced them with a sharp wave and screamed at me. "STEVENSON! I KNOW WE HAVEN'T BEEN IN SCHOOL THAT LONG, BUT YOU WILL NOT SLEEP IN MY CLASS! ONE MORE ACTION LIKE THAT AND YOU'LL HEAD STRAIGHT TO THE PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE!"

I stuck my tongue out at the short, porky man's back as he walked away. Truthfully, that was the first time I did that this semester. So he had no right to judge.

* * *

At lunch, I sat next to Aeron at our usual lunch table. We were talking of why spoons were called spoons before Aeron piped up and said, "Hey, Erica, it's your boyfriend!" she pointed over at Eldred, who was wandering the cafeteria aimlessly looking for me.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I snapped. I stood up and called his name, waving him over.

He saw me and practically tripped his way over. Eldred was clumsy. He was also a geek. He wore beige suspenders over top a white button up collar shirt; long, white knee-socks; and brown penny loafers. He also had on these _ginormous _black glasses which defy the laws of physics by actually staying on top of his little nose.

Aeron turned away when he walked up and pretended not to know him. I spun her back 'round and gave her a glare that said: "Be nice, your rep's already ruined by hanging out with me anyway."

"So, what'cha need Eldred?" I asked him as he sat down.

"Other than contacts?" Aeron scoffed under her breath. I jabbed my elbow in her ribs.

"It's about the club." Eldred simply said. Anytime he's around Aeron he says everything simply. He learned that was best, if he didn't want to be bullied, a long time ago.

"Shoot." I said in a business like manner. After all, this was club-business.

"Well," he began, "It appears that nearly the whole school has joined. Except for the **Yu-Gi-Oh!** haters. Who knew such people existed? I had tried to rent the Gym Friday evenings for the meetings. Apparently, _that will get in the way of the Spring Sports. _So, for the whereabouts of our club meetings… I'm all out of ideas."

Eldred's brow creased in frustration. Ra, he always worries like this.

"Eldred, it's okay. We have nearly two months. We'll figure up something." I reassured him. He smiled half-heartedly.

"Anything else you want to tell us. Anything not referring to you being a level six wizard… which ain't nothing to be proud of." Aeron teased.

"What's that?" I asked her.

"Level ten actually." He told her.

"Again, nothing to be proud of."

"What are you two talking about?" I was on the brink of screaming it. I hate it when they do that.

Eldred sighed; he was used to her picking on him about that. "Answering your question, no, not really."

"Then leave." She said, bluntly.

"Aeron!" I jabbed her again in the ribs.

"What?"

Eldred just rolled his eyes and brushed it off. He could take nearly anything from Aeron, but he'd crumple at any other bully's feet.

* * *

After the school day had ended and the work on the club was finished for the day (in general we were _far _from being far from done), I went home and took a thirty minute nap. I had planned to shoot for an hour nap, but something woke me up.

I sat up in my bed and wondered what in the name of Slifer the Sky Dragon had woken _me_ up. Really. You couldn't comprehend on how heavy of a sleeper I am. Nothing could wake me up. Except anything **Yu-Gi-Oh!** Anything **Yu-Gi-Oh!** will wake me up.

I scanned the room, my room, with my eyes. Perhaps a video tape had fallen off a shelf or the CD player went off again playing my **Yu-Gi-Oh! CD**. Stupid thing.

Perhaps. Scanning the unchanged room was enough to tell me- nothing.

What then?

Maybe someone called my cell phone, which was down stairs.

As I prepared to get up out of bed to check, my eyes caught sight of the golden box.

You know the feeling you get when you are taking a test and you don't even know what the question is talking about? The feeling you get when you scan the answers and one catches your eye? The feeling you get when you want to say the answer is one of the other three? The feeling you get when your mind tells you that one answer is the correct one (even though it's not)? The feeling you get when you really want to pick one of the other three but pick that _one_? The feeling you get when you can't stop thinking about the answer you chose three questions later?

That is the feeling I had at that one moment. I wanted to say my cell phone woke me up, but deep in my heart, I knew it was that box.

I stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of my clothes. I walked over to the box, picked it up, and brought it over to my bed where I flopped down to take a good look at it.

I looked at it and looked at it. It did nothing. I asked myself,_ why the heck am I staring at a lifeless box? It does absolutely nothing!_

"Do something." I told the box. I felt silly afterwards. I felt like a two year old talking to her dolly.

I stared at it for a few more moments until a recent memory came to me.

"_All right. Don't open it till I come back. I'll be coming back sometime in the next couple of weeks anyway."_

Aeron had said that the last time she was here. I thought to myself that day, _and I wouldn't have it any other way._ Truthfully, I was and still am scared to open the thing. Aeron had known that. She told me yesterday.

Memories began to flood back. Memories from the distant past. Memories of Aeron and me and Eldred. All from when we were little.

As I ogled at the eye looking mark on the box, the memories seemed to show themselves to me like a movie, clear as day.

_

* * *

__A small, blond haired, kindergarten girl played on a swing set. Swinging back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Getting higher and higher and higher each time she swung. The next thing she knew, she was knocked off the swing. She began to cry. She turned her crying head to see how the swing faired. She saw that a brown haired girl in boy's clothing sitting in the swing the blond girl had been in just moments before._

_The cute, little blond picked herself up and brushed off the frilly pink dress she wore of woodchips. Tears streaming down her face, she stared at the strange girl. She didn't stare with anger or hatred though. She stared with curiosity. __**Who was this weird girl? Why was she in boy's clothes? Why'd she pushed her out of the swing when there were plenty here in the park?**_

_The brown haired girl noticed this and demanded, "What?"_

"_Why'd you push me out of the swing?" the blond said without any anger, without faltering for sadness. She was more curious of the girl than she was angry or sad or hurt._

"_Because I like this swing." The brunette said without hesitation._

"_Why didn't you just ask to use the swing?"_

"_Why would you give it to me willingly? It's easier to take things then ask for them."_

"_Why do you say that?"_

"_Why do you always ask why?"_

_The fair-haired girl thought for a moment before coming up with an answer that satisfied her._

"_Because, when you want to know something, a reason, you ask why."_

"_Not everything has a reason." The dark haired girl looked confused by the girly-girl's talk. _

"_Of course everything has a reason. Do you think God flooded the earth for no reason?"_

_This caught the brown haired girl off guard. She had heard of this religious thing, but she never actually grew up around it. This frilly-frill must have._

_**Well, no duh, **__a voice said in the back of the tomboy's mind, __**look at the way she's dressed. Says church-goer all over it.**_

"_Is there a reason why you love your dad?" she finally said after much hesitation._

"_Yes."_

"_Really, what is it?"_

"_Because he is my dad and without him, I wouldn't've been born."_

"_That's a good reason."_

_After much silence, the girly inquired with that extreme bluntness and ignorance only a child has: "Why do you take things? Why are you mean to others?"_

"_Eh."_

"_Honey! It's time to go!" the blonde's mother called. She had just come back from shopping in the dollar store across the street._

_The blond ran towards her mother and left the brunette flabbergasted. __**She asks me a question and then leaves. Odd. **_

_But that wouldn't be the last time they meet._

* * *

Ha-ha. I was a little ignorant when I was little. That was the very first time I met Aeron. It wasn't the last either. Many other times we had met, on the playground, the park, stores, even at school. Each time we met, I would ask her questions and it'd confuse her. She began to think it payback for all the times she'd bully me, which was every time we met face to face.

Soon later, when I began to hang around Eldred (which was mainly because I was curious of his ways, like I was with Aeron) she'd bully him too. She'd seem meaner, though, with him. Maybe it was because he didn't ask her wacky questions. Maybe it was because she actually liked me and only bullied me because that's the way she grew up. I always hoped it was the second one, but I knew that the first was more likely.

It took me a few years, but I truly felt we were friends in third grade, although she still bullied me. That's also when _he _came.

Francisco Herrera. He was a large third grader who came from Mexico. He had a rather big crush on me and when he saw Aeron bully me at recess one day, he took action the next day.

_

* * *

__The third grade girl swung on the swing at recess. All alone she was. Her friend, Eldred, sat inside for recess. Heaven knows why. Her bully wasn't even there. __**Where is she? **__The blue eyed girl wondered. __**She's usually here by now. Wonder what happened. **__The girl jumped off her swing on decided to search the playground for her. _

_She didn't see her around anywhere. She checked under the slide, in the towers, in the jungle gym, behind benches, everywhere! Everywhere except behind the shed. Not many went behind there. Some fifth graders would, but no one else._

"_It's a long shot." The third grader mumbled but headed there anyway. _

_What she found there was a shock. Her bully lay against the side of the shed. She was roughed up, her eyes were closed, but she was breathing._

"_WHAT IN THE NAME OF OSIRIS!" the sapphire eyed girl shrieked. She peered around the area to see who did whatever they did to the bully. She saw the culprit. Francisco. "Francisco! What have you done?"_

"_She hurt you, I hurt her back. She deserves it." he said simply._

"_No one deserves that!" _

_Francisco didn't seem to hear the girl. "You should finish her off. It's only fitting."_

"_What!"_

"_You want to, don't you?"_

_The brunette opened her eyes for a second. "Are you happy now?" she asked. Her hazel eyes filled with pain. The blond was surprised that they weren't tearing up. But tearing up or not, those eyes pierced her heart. _

"_No." she muttered. "No, no." _

"_Alright. I'll finish her myself!" Francisco roared. He clenched his fist into a tight ball and began to strike._

_As fast as a striking snake the blond jumped in between the two with her arms stretched out to the sides. "NO! SHE'S MY FRIEND!" _

_Francisco's hand stopped before it reached my face. He did not lower it though. Which was a huge mistake, for the teachers came around to the shed to see what all the commotion was. _

* * *

That is how Aeron and I finally became friends with one another. Francisco was punished for what he did and I guess you could all say we lived happily ever after. Except Eldred. Aeron still bullies him. Although, you can see a hint of kindness in her eyes while she does it.

That wasn't the true end though. We're only 13. We have plenty of adventures to look forward to. And I have a feeling our biggest adventure yet has something to do with this box.

Aeron, I have one thing to say. Hurry up! Come over here soon! The adventure is waiting and I fear it might be growing impatient! Let's not wait and let it pass us up!

* * *

**Guess what's coming up next!!!**


	8. Reality or Fantasy?

**Chapter 8 up!! Yes!!! i have a few author's notes in this one. Also... the day all this is happening is exactly 3 weeks after new years day. Just so you know.**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 8**_

_**Reality or Fantasy?**_

Yugi had been feeling odd all morning. _Something's going to happen today._ He thought as he spread jelly on his toast.

"What's going to happen today?" Atem asked from the stairway. Yugi jerked his head toward the staircase to look at the Yami.

"Well look who decided to get up this morning." He teased with a smirk.

"You didn't answer my question." Atem said ignoring the joke. He repeated the question. "What's going to happen today?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling." Yugi stated this while looking off to the right with a worried expression on his face.

Atem didn't like seeing Yugi like this. He'd rather see his light with a smile. Seeing his hikari like this worried him as much as Yugi was worrying now.

Just at that moment, the phone cried out with the shrillest sound a phone could make. Yugi yelped in surprise and dropped his jelly-on-toast face down on the floor. The carpet now was covered in raspberry jelly in that one spot.

"Perhaps that's what was going to happen today." Atem said as blunt as he could to see if it'd make Yugi smile. The plan was a success.

Yugi raced to get to the phone. He answered it slightly out of breath.

"Hello."

"_Hey Yugi!"_ came Marik's voice on the phone.

"Oh, hey Marik! How's the hotel?" Yugi asked. Marik, Ishizu, and Odion had decided to stay in a local hotel until the prophecy came true.

"_Oh, it's alright, I guess. Odion doesn't seem to like the breakfast buffet though. Anyway, have you been getting an odd feeling?"_

"How'd ya know?"

"_We've been getting the same feeling."_

"Really? How odd we have it and nobody else does so far."

"_The pharaoh doesn't feel it?"_

"No. And you'd think he would."

Yugi began to hear a beeping sound. The sound was coming from the phone.

"Hold on, Marik. I think I'm getting another call."

"_All right."_

Yugi pressed the green button that you press to answer a call **(A/N: I call it the answer button)**. "Hello?"

"_Yugi?"_

"Ryou? Why are you calling? I'd suspect you wouldn't have any time to call, babysitting Bakura and all." Yugi grinned evilly.

"_Hey, I heard that!" _Bakura yelled in the background. Yugi snickered.

"_Eh, he's just watching __The Little Mermaid II__. He's a lot easier to handle when he's watching Disney movies. Lately, that's all he's been doing."_

Yugi tried his hardest to muffle a laugh but gave into the hilariousness of the statement and chuckled a lot.

"_Hey!" _Bakura yelled, again, in the background.

Yugi heard Ryou giggle. He then asked, "So, why you calling?"

"_Well, I've been getting this odd feeling this morning and I was wondering if you were too. Bakura seems to not be feeling it."_

"You, me, and the Ishtars. Why isn't nobody else?"

"_I don't- wait, so do the Ishtars?"_

"Yeah, here, how 'bout I put us on three-way… Marik called not long before you did." Yugi pressed a button and the call automatically went to three-way.

"_How long will it take Yugi to tell that guy to get off the phone and leave him alone?? I'm getting bored waiting here!"_ Marik said to himself.

"_That's nice to know that you think of me that way, Marik." _Ryou said to the said Egyptian.

"_Ryou? How the… who the… what the?"_

"Marik, I have a three-way option on my phone. Ryou says he's been feeling strange too. Why's it that only me, Ryou, you, Ishizu, and Odion are the only ones getting the feeling?"

"_Well, I believe that the reason for me and my siblings having this feeling is that we were tomb keepers once, bestowed with much ancient knowledge… perhaps we've been chosen to do this too."_

"_And me and Yugi… and not our Yamis?"_ Ryou challenged.

"_Perhaps it's a Hikari thing. Or perhaps you two will be most affected. Or maybe you've been connected to your Yamis so long that some magic's rubbed off on you. I don't know. By the way, Ryou, how's the tomb robber doing. Has he killed anybody yet, or has he been a good boy? I bet $50 on the first one."_

"_Actually he's just been watching Disney movies."_

"_Disney… you got to be kidding me! Did becoming mortal make him more fluffy somehow?"_

Yugi sighed. This conversation got him not much farther than where he was now. He said good bye and hung up letting the two talk on how fluffy Bakura was getting. He guessed that whatever was going to happen will happen and be a surprise. He just hoped it was going to be a good surprise.

* * *

I sat there staring at the box. I just sat on my bed, gazing at the box across from me on my shelf. I had been doing that for hours, literal hours. I don't think I even blinked during the time I watched it.

_Where in the name of Osiris is Aeron?_ I thought, still not blinking. My vision had begun to go blurry. It does that when I look at something to long with or without blinking. Usually by this point I can't break my gaze either.

Aeron's dad got back home from jail last night. _They're probably still celebrating. _I concluded. Gaze still unbroken, I thought, _I don't see why. Her dad can _never_ stay out of trouble. I'll give him a week to be back in the slammer once again._

I know a true friend shouldn't think that, but it is true. He can't just be a good boy. He has to keep doing whatever it is he does that's bad (I'm not so sure what he does, Aeron never fills me in on the details). But, I would never say any of this to her face.

"Boo." I heard a voice whisper in my ear. I screamed and fell off the bed. My gaze was broken from the box.

"Where'd you come from?" I solicited. Aeron had just popped up from nowhere in this room.

"I walked in through the door." Aeron said with a tone and look that said: "DUH!"

"You were late. Why? Why were you late?"

"As a _fanclub president_," she fell on my bed in a sitting position next to me and picked up my purple pillow and played with its tassels, "you should understand me not coming here faster because I was learning how to draw fan art."

I snatched the pillow from her hands and laid it behind me. "By learning, you mean looking at, and by fan art, you mean pictures of Joey with his shirt off?"

Aeron blushed and looked away to not show how embarrassed she was.

"Ra! You are such a Joey fangirl!" I scolded her with a laugh and a smile.

"Well, you are such a **Yu-Gi-Oh! **fangirl." She shot back. "What is that anyway?"

I had always told Aeron I was that type of fangirl every time she asked me whose fangirl I was. "That means I don't exactly have a favorite character, I like the whole show."

"_Exactly?_ Does that mean you still like some boys in it?"

"Well, every girl does."

"So who?"

"Well," I put my hands behind my head in the anime fashion, "if I had to _pick_ it'd be Yugi, Atem, Ryou, Bakura, and good Marik."

Aeron blinked and said in a confused tone, "So the baby panda, the pharaoh, the thief king, the limey kid, and the Egyptian version of Harry Potter?"

"All the Hikaris you use nicknames from the abridged series or based on and the original titles for the Yamis. That's nice."

"Based on?"

"Yeah, Marik's nickname wasn't Harry Potter."

"But Atem called him that in his duel with Steve the Mime."

"Yeah, but that was only once."

"Oh, yeah."

We began to think about that episode and began to laugh. We loved the abridged series. Perhaps even more than the original version. But we never even paid any attention to that. We just watched both of them anytime we could. We loved them so much.

After we finally accomplished the big accomplishment of being able to _stop_ laughing, I abruptly stated: "Alright, we shall open the box now. Stay." At that last word I pointed to Aeron trying to tell her to stay sitting at her exact spot.

"Yes ma'am." Aeron saluted and I rolled my eyes.

Just as I was about to pick up the box, my cell phone, which was on my bedside table, rang.

My ring tone, Brooklyn Rage by CardGamesFTW (LittleKuriboh), sounded through the room.

I admit I was slightly angry, but I love that song so much that I forgot my anger and sang along while looking for it.

"_My sister's sight is on the line, I gotta win- they'll learn to run soon as they see my creepy chin- I'M SCARY- Russian roulette is not the same without a gun- but since we're dubbed by 4Kids we must make do without one- SUCKS- oh- whoa-oh-whoa-whoa-whooa-oh-oh-oh-_"

Aeron kind of giggled at the sight of me looking for my phone. It was on top of my bedside table. The "on top" was also cluttered. I am a _very messy_ girl.

"Hello." I answered the phone when I found it. "Oh, hi, Mom… yes Aeron's already here… no, Mom, there's no need to bother her aunt to tell her she's here… if you want to get me a souvenir from Peru, that's fine… who even has a dueling comp. in Peru, anyway?... yeah, you to… bye Mom."

"Was it, let me guess, your mom?" Aeron asked me. I nodded. She then queried, "What'd she want? All I could pick up was Peru, me, and dueling comp."

"Oh, mom things. She's in Peru for some competition. _Why Peru?_ I always ask… but I never get an answer."

"Well, let's open the box."

"Alright!" I moved over to the box and picked it up. I sat on the bed next to Aeron once again.

I put my hand on the lid to open the box. But I paused. I looked into the eye on the box like I've done a thousand times before. Somehow, I felt that if I opened this box, it will change my life… forever. Part of me was excited for the adventure ahead, but the other part of me was afraid. Afraid of what might happen. Now I might seem a bit brave, if you look at my crazy side, but being afraid… nothing new.

_I don't my life to change, _a voice in the back of my mind screamed_, I want it to stay the same! For Slifer, I can't handle change! Change means good or it means bad! I beg of you, don't open that box! I'd rather marry Melvin!_

I shook my head to clear out that stupid, whiny voice. I knew that this box can't just be left unopened forever. I was going to open it. No matter what that voice said!

I took a deep breath and… why is Aeron rolling her eyes?

I looked at her with one eyebrow arched in saying: "What?"

"You're being dramatic. Just open it." she explained/demanded.

**(A/N: Me: Way to ruin a mood Aeron.)**

I did as she asked, rather slowly, I might add.

When I opened the golden treasure chest, the pirate's treasure I found was amazing. Golden puzzle pieces were stashed away inside of this box!

These puzzle pieces, though, weren't 2D pictures on cardboard. They were 3D puzzle pieces.

While I gawked at the marvel in my lap, Aeron's eyes narrowed.

"Am I the only one getting the feeling that we're in a cliché fanfic?" she raised.

"Crazy. This if real life." I dismissed her statement with a wave of my hand. I was too busy marveling the shiny objects.

"I've always wondered about that."

Truthfully, I unintentionally ignored her and began to pick up the pieces, trying to fit them together.

"You're seriously not going to try to solve that puzzle, are you?" Aeron seemed to not to like me being so interested in this thing.

"Oh, look at your pyramid." I told her. She began to flush red.

"How did you know I had it with me?"

"Your hand keeps going into your inside pocket of your jacket. I also can see the red tip. You might want to hide it better; a lot of people would do anything to get their hands on that clump of pure ruby." I said as I played around with the trinkets. I pushed two together so lightly, it probably shouldn't even be classified as a push, and they _clink_ed together.

Aeron took out her pyramid and peered at it for ten seconds at the most. She probably would've stared at it longer if I hadn't broken her concentration by declaring: "Hey! I thing I have a tenth finished!"

"Hey! That thing looks like Yugi's puzzle! You already have a tenth finished?" Aeron was as surprised as I was… about both statements. It did look like Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and I did already have a tenth finished. I think I working faster than he did… weird. I'm not usually good at puzzles… less likely three-dimensional ones.

"You know, it does!" I kept putting the puzzle together; for some reason, I couldn't stop.

Five minutes passed and I was oddly near finishing the puzzle. Just two more pieces to go.

"Hey, you're good at that… you could become a professional puzzle solver." Aeron complimented me. By this time, the red ruby pyramid was back in her inside pocket.

"Thanks… but I truly think that this puzzle is solving itself." I said as I put the second to last piece onto the golden pyramid.

"Or it's telling you how to solve it."

"So, you believe all this?" I asked. Aeron didn't answer, unless you count a shrug as one.

As I held the final piece in my hand, I thought of what might happen when I put this piece in its spot.

_Yugi gained dark power and became the vessel of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh when he solved the puzzle. What will happen when I finish this? Will something like that happen to me? Or something different? Either way, something's going to happen today, and it's all going to begin as soon as this is finished._

I contemplated on whether to finish it or not, that fear was still fluttering around my stomach like butterflies, but I didn't have any choice. For something was controlling me.

What was it?

Curiosity?

Fear?

No.

It was destiny.

It was fate.

I knew this, and I was not going to deny my fate.

I lodged the final piece, the piece that belonged in the middle, the piece with the eye, in its place.

* * *

The completed object glowed. It glowed golden in my hands. The room around me began to shine itself. Everything was pure white one moment, golden the next, and lastly normal.

I gazed around my room. Everything checked out normal.

"Whoa! What in Ra's name was that?" Aeron asked me as she shook her head. She apparently felt a bit dizzy. Speaking of which, I felt a tad flighty too.

"My thoughts exactly." I muttered. I scanned the room. Everything might've checked out normal, but nothing felt normal.

A wobbly Aeron stood up and tried to get rid of the dizzy feeling. I did the same. I made my way over to my bedside table and snatched up my phone. I stuck it in my skirt pocket.

After that I dug around in my clothing drawers.

"What are you doing?" Aeron catechized.

"Looking for a loooooong shoestring."

"Why?"

"I was going to use it to tie my puzzle around my neck."

"… Show off." Aeron said as she turned to the window. She was curious of how no sunlight seemed to breech the room from below the curtain.

"WHAT! How am I a show off?" I demanded an answer as I tossed random things from the safety of the cramped drawers to the floor.

"You're trying to show off your triumph."

"I am NOT!"

"Sounds like it to me." Aeron opened the blue curtains with golden accents. "Erica, you have a nice view. Very lovely."

"Awe, thanks." I said. I had found a loooooong shoelace and slid it through the loop at the top of the pyramid (the bottom if made correctly). I tied an extremely strong knot toward the end of the string to make a necklace. Tying UN-untie able knots was one of my specialties.

I was really surprised to see that the bootlace held such an object. That lace was _strong_.

"Erica," Aeron called to me from two feet away, "I was being sarcastic. Brick is ugly."

"Brick?" I, thoroughly confused, raced to the window. Brick covered the outside of the window. "How in Ra's name did that happen?"

"Perhaps… we should go check it out." Aeron suggested.

"Yeah." I agreed.

I opened the door and we exited the room. But we didn't come out in the upstairs hallway. We came out on a street! A sidewalk next to a road!

As we stood there gaping at the scene in front of us, a single thought ran through my head: _Where are we?_

That question is exactly what Aeron asked me. I didn't know how to answer, for I didn't know myself.

"Aeron," I came up with a self satisfying answer, I thought it might satisfy her too, "we're either in reality or a fantasy. But I'm not sure which right now."

* * *

**I'm thinking the travelers should meet the _Yu-Gi-Oh! _cast next chapter. What do you think?**


	9. A Fangirl's Dream

**Wow. i finished this one faster than i thought i would. Finally the two worlds collide... i think this might be the longest one chapter.**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 9**_

_**A Fangirl's Dream**_

It was true I was shocked. It was true I was confused. _How can stepping outside a bedroom door that is on the second floor of a house, by the way, lead you to a busy street?_

But instead of feeling scared I felt perfectly calm. I felt like I've seen this place before. _But where?_

Besides that, the town looked peaceful enough. The streets were busy, yes, but no crazies were on the road driving. The people on the sidewalks either stood there waiting for the bus or walked to their destinations. Both groups minded their own business. There were a few small children playing happily in the park across the road. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue; no clouds were in sight. The sun was shining bright.

Even though the sun was shining, people were waling around in heavy coats, scarves, and boots. So were the children in the park, one looked like a cute, big marshmallow with pink little feet. I swear she was cute.

Not until then had I realized that _I _was cold. I began to shiver. I was definitely not dressed to be outside in, what, 50 degree weather.

I was wearing a thin, light blue, long sleeved shirt with a big Kuriboh on the front; a dark blue skirt with a pocket on the side (it also kind of looks like a Japanese anime schoolgirl uniform skirt); long, white knee socks; and dark blue converse shoes. I also wore a light blue headband in my hair that had a cute, tiny Kuriboh on it too.

Trembling, I looked over at Aeron. She was smart enough to come over to my house with a jacket. A dark red jacket over a red t-shirt with the Red Eyes Black Dragon on the front. As a Joey fangirl, it's quite obvious which card is her favorite and favorite to wear. She had blue jeans on that had holes in them. A popular fad. She also had tennis shoes on.

She wasn't trembling from the cold. I was jealous of that jacket.

"H-hey, A-Aeron? Can we go back inside? I- I need to get my jacket." I asked her. She nodded.

We turned to go back through the door. On the door, a sign said _OPEN_. Above the door, a sign said that we were about to go into a store called "Tina's Jewelry Box". A jewelry store.

Aeron opened the door and we stepped inside. We didn't step inside my room though; we stepped inside of the jewelry store.

"Well, this isn't good." Aeron bluntly said. "Come on Erica, let's go. We might find an entrance to your room somewhere else."

Aeron turned to leave, but I just stood there instead. "No, it's warm."

She grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the warmth.

When we were outside, I began to shiver again.

"We need to find the entrance to your bedroom." Aeron stated.

"I-I d-doubt we w-will, Aeron. I got a-a f-feeling that will be im-impossible. I th-think were st-stuck here." I disagreed with her idea of returning home. Something just told me we couldn't.

"Well, then, we need to buy you a jacket." Aeron said, noticing how much I was shivering.

"I d-don't suppose you b-brought any m-money with you, did y-you?"

"No… what's that sound?"

"That's my teeth chattering."

"Oh."

We started to walk down the sidewalk. At the crossing road, we and some other pedestrians crossed the road to the other sidewalk that ran next to the fence of the park.

Aeron just followed me. She didn't really care where we went; we weren't in Sunnyside anymore so she, unlike me, thought it didn't matter where we went.

When I found the gate that led into the park, I went through it. I found a concrete path and walked along it. We soon came to bench and I curled up on it, trying to get warm.

I just stared out at the park that looked so different from the parks in Sunnyside, arms wrapped around my knees which I held close to my chest.

Aeron just silently sat down next to me. She was probably thinking the same thing as me._ Where are we, and how do we get home?_

A guy walked by. He threw a newspaper away in a fancy trash can that was not far down from us and the bench that, no matter how long I sat there, was freezing my butt off.

Suddenly, Aeron stood up and made her way to the trash bin.

"What're you doing, Aeron?" I asked her as she lifted the lid and stuck her hand inside it.

"Ewe." I said. She just rolled her eyes as she brought out that newspaper.

She came back and sat down next to me.

"Get that stinky thing away from me!" I leaned away.

"Oh it's not that dirty!" she said to me.

"Why'd you get that nasty thing anyway?"

"Because," Aeron scanned the front page of the thing, "newspapers always tell the date and the city and state the paper is printed. Don't you watch those detective movies? This is a simple trick to learn where and/or when you are."

"I get it."

"See, the date is the exact same as ours back home… so we didn't time travel." Aeron showed me the date on the page. I kept my distance while looking. I wasn't exactly a neat freak but, come on, it came from the garbage!

Aeron scrutinized the page once more for the city. When she found it, she let out a gasp.

"What?" I asked.

"E-Erica? Does Domino City exist?" she questioned in reply.

"You mean where **Yu-Gi-Oh!** takes place? No, I don't think so."

"Well, according to this, that's where we are."

"Wha- let me have a look at that." I demanded.

I seized the paper, thus putting me in a normal sitting position, and read the part that told the city. _Domino City_.

"Oh, gosh, we're in Domino." I thrust the document back to her.

I truly didn't know what to think of this. How the heck could we end up in Domino? I mean, **Yu-Gi-Oh! **was just a show, right? The only thing from the show that is real is the card game, right?

"Perhaps, we jumped dimensions." I reasoned. Actually, for some reason, I wasn't really reasoning with myself or Aeron. I- I knew it for true. Something… something inside me told me that. I believed it.

Aeron nodded her head in accord. I think she'd believe anything at this moment.

* * *

After the called he had with his two friends, Yugi told his grandpa and Atem about the conversation. They laughed at the part of Bakura watching Disney movies obviously, but listened intently to the rest. The other two didn't know what it meant either.

Not long after, Atem had grabbed his coat and a scarf and left saying that Joey, Tristan, and Tea were going to teach him and the thief some things they didn't know about living in modern times.

"Yeah… tell them I said hi and good luck with that." Yugi said. Knowing the Thief King, they were going to have to force it down his throat.

Not long later, Yugi called Ryou back to see if he was as bored as he was. It turned out he was so, as a result, they decided to hang out. they would meet at the park since it was a half-way point and they both were too lazy to walk all the way to the others house.

Before he left though, Yugi noticed that his grandpa was acting… normal.

"Grandpa? Have you taken your medicine today?" he asked Solomon Motto. Yugi's grandpa takes prescribed pain medicine every morning. One of the medicine's side effects is hyperactive-ness…or generally known as acting crazy. Like on Christmas Day when he thought he was a Wonder Pet. That was caused by the side effect.

"Um… no. I feel fine today." Solomon replied.

"Grandpa, the instructions say to take it once a day and to ask the doctor about skipping days. Grandpa, that means to _not _skip days."

"I know what it means." Grandpa moped as he headed toward the bathroom where the medicine was kept.

Yugi waited to make sure his grandpa took the medicine, and then left after he was sure the medicine was taken.

It's a good thing that he was wearing a lime green coat, dark jeans, tennis shoes, and a white sweatshirt or he would've froze out in the cold weather.

Running fast to keep warm, Yugi was at the park in no time.

"Gosh, where is Ryou. I'm freezing out here! He better not still be in his warm house making me wait here in the cold… nah, he wouldn't do that. Bakura would. But not Ryou." He muttered to himself, hopping from one foot to the other in a vain attempt to keep warm.

Five minutes passed and he was still waiting. Another ten and he heard Ryou shouting his name as he ran towards him waving.

The white haired teen was wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, a grey shirt, and a purple coat (purple was his favorite color).

"Yugi! Sorry I took so long. Bakura must've hid my coat while I wasn't looking. It took forever to look for it before I found it in the fridge." Ryou explained.

"Why didn't you wear another coat?" Yugi asked, holding in a laugh. Bakura found a pretty silly place to hide a coat.

"This is my favorite coat."

Yugi shook his head while sniggering a bit. "Come on, I heard they're selling hot chocolate somewhere in the park."

"Good 'cause I could use a cup. I'm freezing."

"How do you think I've been for these past 15 minutes?"

The boys entered the park and made their way toward the back end. That was where everyone with a steaming mug of hot chocolate was coming from.

As they made their way down the concrete pathway, they saw two girls sitting on a bench not far down from them. One, a brunette, was reading a newspaper and the other one, a blond, was sitting with her knees to her chest, clearly freezing.

"Aeron," the blond said, "look, everybody here has hot chocolate."

The brunette answered her; apparently she was 'Aeron'. "Erica, we didn't bring any money. So we can't buy any." 'Aeron' didn't look up from the paper.

"Uuuuuggghh! Least let me borrow your jacket!" the blond called 'Erica' protested.

"No. I need it." 'Aeron' still didn't look up from the page.

"But I'm cold!" 'Erica' complained.

"Well, you should've worn a jacket."

"Well, how was I supposed to know my bedroom door was a portal to another dimension!? I didn't think I was going to need one! I didn't even know I was going to come here!" 'Erica' cried.

'Aeron' dropped the tabloid and put her hand over the other girl's mouth. She muttered something into the blond girl's ear, but Yugi and Ryou didn't hear it.

"Another… dimension?" Yugi looked over at Ryou, who was just as confused as he was. "Hey, Ry, do you think one of them is the 'person with tremendous power' that's going to save the world?"

Ryou had a look on his face that clearly expressed on how absurd the idea seemed to him. "Are you kidding me? They look no more than 13! The brunette might cut it for a little while but not long. The blond looks too fragile."

"But Ryou," Yugi looked up to his friend, the past six months did nothing for his height, "she said 'portal to another dimension', isn't that enough proof? Also, by the way you talked about them, it sounds like Bakura might be starting to rub off on you."

Ryou paused for a moment. "That's not good." He said at the thought of Bakura's personality affecting his attitude. Then he added, "Yeah, that does sound like enough proof. We should find out."

"But how?"

"We'll think of something."

* * *

"Don't say that too loud. That last thing we need is for people to think we're batty." Aeron crossly whispered. I hated it when I got her mad.

I pushed her hand away from my mouth. "Sorry. But I'm turning into an ice pop here." I muttered back.

I unfolded myself from my position and sat normally; I kicked my legs in the cold air thinking the constant motion would keep my legs warm.

After a minute, I sighed. "Hey, do you really think we're in the **Yu-Gi-Oh!** Domino? I didn't read the whole paper."

"We are definitely in the **Yu-Gi-Oh! **Domino. The first page talks about Kaiba Corp… and the rest of the paper talks about related things." Aeron said as she picked up the paper again.

I stole peek at it once again to see if that was true. It was.

I took the paper from her and held it. Aeron looked at me with an expression that said: "Should've known you'd do that".

"What're we going to do?" I asked Aeron once the silence and cold got to me. "How're we going to get home? We need to get home. Today's the day a new epi. of **Yu-Gi-Oh!** was going to come out. If I miss that I'll die."

Aeron didn't answer my question when she pointed and said: "Hey, don't those guys over there look cute?"

"What? Who?"

"Them." she pointed to three guys who were standing with hot chocolate in their hands. "Dare me to go flirt with them? I'll do it."

"Aeron!"

* * *

Yugi was getting tired of standing there doing nothing while Ryou tried to think of a way to find out about the two girls. The snow hair adolescent had already dismissed Yugi's idea of just walking up and asking them. He said that they had to do it secretly, without the two young girls knowing. Yugi could've sworn that Ryou was too heavily influenced by Bakura.

Yugi had enough. He left his friend and strolled off toward the hot chocolate stand.

"Where you going, Yugi?" Ryou called after him.

"To get some hot chocolate. I get you some too." He called back.

The hot chocolate stand was at the far end of the park. So to get there, it caused him to pass the strange girls.

* * *

I looked up as soon as someone passed. For some reason, I became a machine. Look somewhere, someone passes the bench, look in their direction, they pass, look somewhere else. I had done that for a while now.

This time, the cycle was broken.

A teenage boy had passed. He looked about our age, but I knew it for naught when I saw his hair.

His hair was tri-colored and stuck up in all directions.

When he passed the bench, I stared after him in bewilderment. Was that…?

I glanced at Aeron. She apparently saw him too. Her face had the same expression as mine.

"You know," she said, "I understood that we were in Domino City… but I never expected to see the King of Games."

* * *

As Yugi walked back with two hot chocolates in his hands, he heard a warning whisper that said: "Quick! Look away! Look away!"

_Odd._ He thought.

When he reached Ryou, who hadn't moved from that one spot, he handed the silver haired teen his cup.

"Did you see they way those two girls stared after you?" Ryou gossiped as he sipped his hot chocolate.

"Not really, I wasn't paying attention. But it wouldn't be the first time." Yugi laughed.

"Hey, wait. If those two are from another dimension, how would they know who you are?" Ryou realized this.

"I have…" Yugi began but he was interrupted.

"OH MY!" the two boys heard a feminine voice yell.

"…No idea." Yugi and Ryou turned to see the brunette swiftly turn to the blond.

* * *

"Erica!" Aeron yelled at me.

"Wha-at!" I replied just as loud.

"They heard you!" Aeron motioned to her left, where a fluffy haired teen and the pointy haired teen.

"Heard what?"

"You say we're from another dimension!"

"How do you know they- hey, we're you eavesdropping?"

"No. They're like, what, ten feet away? I can easily hear thing if they are within a ten feet radius!"

"So what?"

"So WHAT? So…" Aeron was cut off by the sound of laughter. We turned in the direction of the laughter to see that the two boys were giggling their heads off.

"W-what're you laughing at?" Aeron asked, slightly annoyed. She hated being laughed at.

"S-sorry." The taller teen panted.

"Yeah, we didn't mean to laugh. It's just that kinda looked funny." The other teen added.

"Sounds like you meant to laugh to me." Aeron countered, getting more irritated by the second.

I had a picture in my mind of what would happen if I didn't calm Aeron down. I didn't like it.

"Aeron, calm down. You gotta admit that was pretty funny." I reasoned.

"Humph." Aeron crossed her arms and looked away from the two boys.

The spiky-haired teen suddenly appeared behind us and was leaning on the middle of the back of the bench. "Sorry we made you mad." He said innocently.

We jerked toward the ends of the bench (me toward the right, Aeron toward the left) with faces that clearly showed that he surprised us.

"And sorry that my friend here surprised you." The other one walked up to the side of the teenager leaning on the bench.

"But is it true… that you're from another dimension?" Spiky looked at us.

I looked at Aeron. She gave me a sign not to answer, but I did anyway.

"I would say yes but she'd kill me if I did." I motioned to Aeron who face-palmed.

The males laughed at that.

"And here starts the crazy rep." Aeron said.

Spiky smiled, "We don't think you're crazy."

"Yeah," Snowy shrugged, "we have actually been waiting for you."

The two boys got replies of: "Nyeh?" and "I don't like where this is going."

"We'll explain in full later, but for now how 'bout you come with us to my grandpa's game shop? You seemed cold. You can get something hot to drink there." Spiky suggested.

"I don't know…" Aeron began but I cut her off.

"Sure," I stood up, "come on Aeron." I grabbed her arm and pulled her up. The boys walked out from behind the bench and motion us to follow them.

"Wait, Erica, you're actually going to trust them?" Aeron inquired of me.

"Sure, why not?" I countered, bluntly.

Aeron muttered something softly.

Snowy slowed to a pace to where he was walking beside me. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure." I answered.

"It's not that I was intentionally watching or anything, but I sort of saw the way you stared after my friend when he walked passed you as if you knew him. Did you know him or was it just because of his hair?"

"Well, yeah, we do kind of know him… and you."

At that, Snowy blinked. I could feel that Aeron was on the verge of face-palming again.

"Me? How? I understand my friend, but _me_?" Snowy was clearly confused.

Uh-oh. How do I explain this? I think Aeron was right when she motion me to keep my mouth shut. I would say right now 'me and my big mouth' but the dentist would disagree.

"Aeron, would you mind explaining?" I tried to get Aeron to explain my mistake.

"Oh no. You said it, you explain it." she said.

"Thaaanks."

"You're welcome."

I thought for a moment. Both Snowy and Spiky were looking at me now waiting for an explanation. Explaining this would be a bit embarrassing.

"Well, you see, in the dimension we're from, there is this TV show and manga called **Yu-Gi-Oh! **and you two are characters in it."

Now it was either because we were already there at the game shop (which we were) or because of surprised that they stopped in their tracks.

"What?" they said in unison.

"Yeah."

"Um… how 'bout you explain further when we're inside." Spiky said.

We entered the shop. They took us backshop to a living room.

Spiky motioned us to sit down on the couch while he got us some hot chocolate. Snowy explained that store bought hot chocolate was ten times better than the hot chocolate in the park. That is probably why they threw their cups away so fast.

After I finally had a warm cup in my hands, Snowy asked us- meaning me since Aeron wanted no part in the explaining- to explain the **Yu-Gi-Oh! **thing. And I did. **(A/N: I will spare you the details since you readers probably could guess what she said exactly.)**

"Now, that's cool." Yugi said.

"Wow. Wait. It sounds like Bakura isin it more than me." Ryou said.

"He is." I said.

Ryou didn't exactly like that, I wouldn't blame him.

Yugi thought of something, "You said something about an abridged series, what's that?"

Aeron and I sniggered.

"What?" he asked.

"You see," Aeron felt like explaining this, "the abridged series is a parody of the show. Same characters, almost same plot, but it is fan made. It is made to be hilarious, which it is, and made for fun."

"Yeah," I finished her explanation, "the guy who makes them, LittleKuriboh, or CardGamesFTW, he is known as both, started to make them for fun. But he began to get a huge fan base and many subscribers on Youtube who demanded more. So now he makes them for the fans. It is hilarious, even though it slightly makes fun of the show."

"Actually, it makes fun of 4Kids."

"Yeah, it makes of the 4Kids dub of the show. Poor 4Kids. Anyway, it is awesome. I watch it everyday. Even though the humor in it is a 'bit' mature."

"So this LittleKuriboh guy makes fun of the people who did the English dub of the Japanese show." Yugi made sure he had that straight.

"Yes." we replied in unison.

"Need us to explain anything else?" Aeron asked.

"Nah. Think we're good." Yugi said.

"So. Now that we explained our explanation, how about you explain yours?" I bargained.

"Well, ours is a bit simpler than yours." Yugi said. "But surprising all the same."

"You see, you know Atem and Bakura, they came back on Christmas Day. Back to the living, with their own bodies. We learned from Marik and his siblings that was part of a prophecy." Ryou said.

"The prophecy states: 'A person with tremendous power will come from another dimension and save our world'. And since you're from another dimension, it must mean you…two." Yugi concluded.

We looked at them for a second.

Aeron finally piped up and said: "Well, it ain't me. I don't believe a powerful destiny would be put on my shoulders."

"Are you saying it's me?" I asked her. Me of all people. I should be the least likely to be able to save the world or even have tremendous power.

"Well, none of this happened until right after you solved that puzzle." Aeron pointed to the puzzle around my neck.

Ryou and Yugi looked to where she was pointing and their eyes widened.

"W-where did you get that?" Yugi exclaimed as he reached out and held the golden puzzle.

He lifted it up to face level to get a good look at it.

"I got it from Santa for Christmas. I only started putting it together today." I said.

"And you finished it today! How long did it take?" he was apparently surprised.

"Within five minutes."

"Oh my-! It took me-"

"Eight years, we know."

Yugi seemed jealous. I didn't find any fault. He had a puzzle like this once (or this was his puzzle) and I claimed it for my own _and _finished it faster than he did. For a second, I actually felt pretty guilty.

I felt compelled to say that I was sorry, but before I could even open my mouth, Ryou spoke up. "Hey, Yugi, don't you think that we should call Marik and the others?"

"At least Marik." He replied, still looking at my puzzle.

"Could you call him? You're really the only one with his phone number."

"Oh sure. Um… here you go." He handed my puzzle back to me; I took it.

Yugi left the room. While he was making the call, Ryou asked: "So, about that abridged series, did this LittleKuriboh guy make me the cool one or…?"

Aeron and I began to giggle.

"It-it depends on how you look at it." I said.

Ryou cocked his head to the side in slight confusion.


	10. A Villain Returns

**OK. i know this is short, but it is only to introduce the antagonist-villain. Also it shows what Rebecca and her grandpa are doing that same day Erica and Aeron entered Yugi's universe.**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 10**_

_**A Villain Returns**_

In a high-tech boat, somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic, Professor Hawkins sat, controlling a probe. This probe could swim to the deepest of ocean depths and take pictures of what is down there.

He was searching for the city of Atlantis. Not just parts like he found before, the whole thing.

How was he doing? Not so good. He hadn't found even found a shingle.

But, truth was, he hadn't gone deep enough.

Many kilometers under the ocean's surface rested the city.

It was in condition too. Everything as it was and where it was when it sank.

Even the small, golden, daisy pendant that lay on the steps of the palace.

Just hope Professor Hawkins doesn't find that. If he brings it to the surface…

Back up in the boat, Professor Hawkins decides to take a lunch break. His granddaughter, Rebecca, decides to take over for him.

She chose to lower the probe a few hundred more feet. The probe picked up something and took a picture.

When the picture popped up on the screen, Rebecca called her grandpa back over.

When he saw the picture, he leaped for joy declaring that _his _granddaughter found the sunken city of Atlantis. Which she did.

She handed the control back to him and they had the probe search the palace of the city. On the steps, they found the golden daisy pendant, perfectly preserved, as if by magic.

They did the first thing all scientists would think to do, bring it to the surface.

They did just that. And once the pendant was in dry sunlight, the spell that was on it for millenniums took effect.

The sky above the boat grew dark as storm clouds gathered. The sea began to grow restless and violent. Lightning crashed and broke the waves rocking the boat. Thunder bashed. The passengers of the vessel were thrown from side of the boat to the other.

A loud, evil voice cackled and screamed. "FINALLY! I AM FREE! FREE TO PUNISH THE WORLD WHO UNJUSTLY PUNISHED ME!"


	11. A Fangirl's Dream Continued

**Chapter 11. this one might not be as good as the others but i was going through slight writer's block... and my parents kept telling me to go to bed the past 40 min. and i was worried they would start since 10. Ra, i hate it when they do that... Dad doesnt even go to bed himself sometimes... they get on my nerves soo much! Anyway, since i'm starting quote the abridged so much and probably will increase in the future: ****i do not own yugioh abridged or yugioh! those belong to their owners! and... All hail LittleKuriboh! had to say that. Anyway, enjoy!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 11**_

_**A Fangirl's Dream Continued…**_

Yugi poked his head back into the living room. "Ryou, could you come here a moment?"

"Sure, excuse me." Ryou said to us as he stood up and left the room.

Aeron and I began to whisper amongst ourselves.

"Ra, can you believe our luck? We met both Yugi Motto and Ryou Bakura in one day here!" Aeron whispered. I didn't hear her.

Why?

"A person with tremendous power will come from another dimension to save our world."

Thoughts roared through my head like a lion in a circus being whipped into tricks by a greedy lion tamer. _Aeron, she insists that it's not her but… it has to be! I mean, between the two of us, Aeron's the only one able to shoot a simple basket. When I throw that stupid thing, it flies off in the opposite direction hitting some poor sap in the head. Or worse. It'll hit _me _in the head. How can it be me? Aeron's more fit for the job. She strong, athletic… nothing seems to stop her from doing anything. But…_

I looked down at the puzzle around my neck. _All of this didn't happen until _I _solved the puzzle… _

Aeron waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped back to life at turned to face her.

"Worried, huh?" she asked.

"Who said I was worried?" I put on a genuine smile. But Aeron saw right through it.

"You are."

"How'd you know?"

"Erica, I've known you since forever. I can tell when you're worried. And, in complete contrast to your smile, your eyes don't show that you're not worried.

Listen, you might think that you can do it, whatever it is that you have to do, but I think you can."

"Really?" I was in amazement. She _actually believed _that I could do whatever needed to save the world.

"Yeah. I mean, remember when we became friends? You jumped right in front of that boy to protect me from being pummeled any more than I already was. That took a lot of courage."

"I knew he wouldn't beat _me_ up. He had too big a crush on me."

"Yeah, but there was still that chance. What you lack in strength, you make up for in wits, heart, courage… and craziness."

"You just had to add in that crazy part didn't you?"

"And besides, you know how they solve problems and save the world her in this dimension. They play children's card games. There is never any life threatening things that happen in this universe."

"Yeah, 4Kids made sure of that."

"You're good at Duel Monsters. I've seen you play. So I doubt you'll have any problems."

"Aeron, don't jinx it."

"Sorry. But isn't it cool we're meeting the characters from our favorite show?"

"Heck yeah!"

* * *

"This is not good." Ryou placed the phone back on its receiver.

"What did he say?" Yugi asked.

"Bakura ran off. So that's why Marik will be a little late coming here. Tea found his number in the phone book and called him for help. They need a lot of people for the search. If you ask me, they should just look in all the clubs/bars and any store that carries a lethal weapon first. He's libels to be in any of those places."

"Why didn't they call us?"

"Perhaps for the same reason Marik wouldn't let me go help. This just might be our only day of relaxation with them here in the world for a while. They don't want the pressures of having the Yamis here to start now."

"It's not Atem, though, it's Bakura. Why're they worried about me?"

"The two are bound to fight a lot, Yugi. Need I say more?"

"No, I understand now."

Yugi thought for a moment. "I guess that makes it better for us. Them not wanting us on the search, I mean."

"What'd'ya mean?"

Yugi peered into the living room. Erica and Aeron sat there on the couch talking and laughing away. "I kinda wanna learn more about this **Yu-Gi-Oh! **show of theirs."

* * *

Two hours after the call Yugi made to him, Marik, Atem, Tea, Joey, Tristan, and a very squirmy Bakura were making their way back to the game shop. Tristan and Joey were each holding a Bakura arm and were taking up the rear while the other three strode in front.

"Why're we all going to Yugi's, Marik?" Tea asked him. She understood why Atem was, but all of them?

"Yugi called me before I left. Apparently, while in the park, he and Ryou found our 'hero'." He answered.

"Oh, really? Do you think that he can calm Bakura down?" Joey said grunting, trying to keep Bakura from running away.

"Don't know. But Yugi also said that he brought a friend."

"That's nice." Tristan muttered. He was getting annoyed at Bakura. Even more than he already was. If that was possible.

Soon, the group was entering the shop and making their way back to the living room. By this time, Bakura had quit resisting and Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum had let go of him.

* * *

We heard somebody coming our way and we all looked toward the door. A group had come to the living room door.

It is odd how the anime was so close to the real thing. I immediately knew that the group consisted of Yami/Atem, Tea Gardner, Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, Marik Ishtar, and Bakura.

I glanced at Aeron. Her face had turned a light shade of pink. She was looking at something. I followed her gaze to see that the something she was looking at was a _someone_.

Joey Wheeler.

I, at first, wondered why. But then it hit me like a bag of bricks.

She was a Joey fangirl.

Now it also made me wonder why I wasn't blushing like that since I was in the same room as the characters from my favorite TV show. I then realized why.

I was a fangirl of the whole show. So I couldn't really redden at any of the characters. I just felt wonderment and excitement- these emotions were carefully guarded and locked in tight, I assure you.

Aeron, strictly as a Joey fangirl, blushed because…

You get the idea.

I gave her a smirk.

She must've seen me in the corner of her eye because she turned and gave me a glare that said: "Keep quiet or you won't be able to smirk for the rest of your life."

But that just made me smirk bigger. **(A/N: Erica: smirk bigger? Me: I'm working on it!)**

Marik, who was still standing at the door with the others, asked: "Who's your friends, Yugi?"

"Yeah, and, uh, where're da hero and the friend?" Joey asked.

"Um, to answer your question Joey," Yugi stood up, "and this will answer your question too Marik… the hero and _her _friend are these two." Yugi motioned to us and we smiled and gave a quick wave to the posse.

"Eh? The hero's a _girl_?" Joey inquired.

I made a face showing my hatred of the sexist statement and was about to mention my feelings aloud. Aeron on the other hand looked like she didn't care. Stupid Joey fangirl-ness blocked her hearing apparently. She usually hates statements like that and is more apt to react more than me.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to say something, Tea said what I was thinking for me.

"Joey! That was utterly and completely SEXIST! What the heck is wrong with our hero_ine _being a girl?"

Joey, seeing the danger, began to stutter out an explanation for his outburst with his hands up in front of him, palms facing toward Tea, for defense.

"N-now, Tea. I-I just meant that it is a surprise! I don't think there's anything wrong with it!"

"Oh, really? You always say that! You always say sexist remarks and always say you didn't mean them. Why should I believe you now? Should I call you Boy Who Cried Wolf?"

Joey began to walk backwards, ending up against the wall in the living room. The wall closest to the door I might add.

"I do mean it this time! Other than Mai, Ishizu, Rebecca, and you… has any girl helped us in our adventures? Really, we haven't met many girls."

Tea thought for a moment, "Alright. You're off the hook this time, but one more_ sexist_ joke and I'll slap you into next week. Really, you can be such a pig sometimes."

A simple thought ran through my head that made me have to suppress a giggle. _At least she didn't call you a dog, Joey._

Yugi rolled his eyes. He must've been used to that.

Atem decided to speak up at this moment. "But Yugi, Ryou," he motioned to Ryou to make sure the snow haired teen knew he wasn't forgotten, "how do you know it's these two?"

"Oh, we're pretty sure it's them." Ryou stated. "How can we not be after they told us themselves… and the short description of their world?"

The five at the door gave him a look that told us that they were thinking the same thing. _Anybody can say that they're from another dimension and make up a fake universe._

Yugi looked at me and Aeron, "You want to prove it to them?"

Aeron and I looked at each other and smirked.

"You wish to do the honors?" Aeron asked.

"Why, I'd be delighted!" I put my hand to my chest; I kind of looked like a snobby, rich woman.

I stood up and walked over to the group. The three behind me were trying to hold in a laugh while the five in front were a little surprised.

I walked up and stood beside Tristan. "You're Tristan Taylor, best friend to Joey Wheeler and rival to Duke Devlin in trying to win the heart of Serenity Wheeler, Joey's little sister."

I moved over to Joey. "You're Joey Wheeler, you have a sister named Serenity, and you also ranked second in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. And what's more, you're picked on by the CEO of Kaiba Corp, Seto Kaiba, and called a dog."

I finally stood by Tea. "You're Tea Gardner, you love to dance and wish to go to New York to study dance, and you have a job at a burger joint to save money for the dance school."

I gaited back to my spot of the couch and sat down.

"H-how did you know that?" Tea asked, surprise filling her tone. She wasn't the only one either.

"We told you, they're from another dimension." Yugi said.

"Still, how'd she know all _that_?" Tristan said, a blush lining his cheeks.

"In our world, there's this TV show called **Yu-Gi-Oh! **It's the story about your adventures with the pharaoh Atem." Aeron said. She motion toward Atem at that last part.

"Eh?" the five said in unison.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe the whole story…" Ryou affirmed.

The rest is a bit hard for me to explain. When they sat down and Yugi and Ryou told the story, it was a bit awkward and boring. So don't make me explain it. I bet your tired of me drone on and on anyway. **(A/N: Me: You're supposed to drone on and on. This story is in first person. Erica: Hey, what're you doing here?! You're supposed to be out there, not in the story!) **

* * *

"I'm not sure I like your entire world seeing me in a dog suit." Joey muttered. Everything was explained and said.

"I thought it was funny." I said. It was true. I thought it was funny. I thought that whole episode was funny. Of course, I can laugh at anything. Say potato aloud randomly and I'll laugh.

Joey gave me a glare. I smiled and held up me fingers in a peace sign.

Tea decided to change the subject. "So, you say you're stuck here?"

"Yep." said Aeron.

"Sadly, we didn't bring any money so we can't rent a hotel room." I hated the idea of no place to stay. I didn't really think that those benches in the park would be that comfortable either.

"… I would say you could stay with me but there's no more room in my house for guests." Tea laughed. "We already have six rats somewhere in the walls, three bats in the attic, and my grandma in the guest room!"

The boys looked at her in a "What?" way. Aeron and I were used to things like that. Aeron's bathroom has tons of rats. I used to have a pet bat in my bedroom until he flew away with his girlfriend… I still miss Bob.

"Okay… how about… I have no clue." Marik 'suggested'.

"If there looking for a place to stay, they can stay here. We have an empty store room farther back." we heard a voice from the doorway. We turned our heads toward the voice. There stood Solomon Motto with broom in hand.

"Grandpa, were you snooping in on our conversation… again?" Yugi stood up and walked over to his grandpa. "We're not putting them in a storeroom."

"Why were you listening in, Mr. Motto?" Ryou asked.

"A pancake flew through the door so I came to catch it." he said to Ryou. Ryou gave him a quizzical look.

"Yeah, Grandpa, I think it flew into the kitchen, so go look for it in there." Yugi pushed his grandpa back into the hallway and shut the door. "Gosh, why did the doctor prescribe that medicine?"

I began to think that we might've stumbled onto the original **Yu-Gi-Oh! **cast, but met the abridged Grandpa too.

The rest giggled like it was normal while we inter-dimensional travelers were extremely confused.

Yugi turned and sighed. He saw our perplexed faces and quickly explained, "The doctor prescribed him some medicine a few months ago for pain. That's one of the side effects."

"Complete craziness?" Aeron wondered.

Yugi laughed. But then he had a realization. "But you can stay here. You can stay here in the living room. We only use it when large company is over anyway."

I thought a moment. "I don't know. I don't really want to be a-"

"Sure, if you're okay with it." Aeron said suddenly.

"Good, then it's decided." Yugi announced.

"Yeah. Stay at Yugi's Bed and Breakfast. The cost: just save the world and you're good." Joey said like a TV commercial. It wasn't that good of an impression though.

* * *

The rest of the day went… well, like an Anime. In every anime I've watched, people could just meet and hang out like they've known each other forever. That's pretty much how everything went.

Yugi brought out a couple blankets and pillows and set them in the living room. By this time it was already night and everyone was tired. The other five went back to their homes and Yugi and Atem headed upstairs to their bedrooms.

I took possession of the couch while Aeron called the loveseat.

The lights were all turned off and the room was dark. I huddled under my blanket. I thought of all the things that had happened that day and thought of how awkward I felt.

My eyes never grew heavy. So I just stayed awake thinking more. I thought of what either I or Aeron had to do. One of us had to save the world. I really didn't like thinking of that.

I felt like I wanted to get all this over with. Whatever was to be done, done and we can all get back to our lives. I don't know why I felt like that, but I did.

I felt like I knew what was going to happen, but I didn't. I was confused. I was confused and feeling extremely awkward.

But I also felt, no, knew something else. I knew that today- I made some awesome friends.

* * *

**hehe... i was getting bored of just 'watching' all this happen(it is in Erica's POV so she's telling the story) so i decided to talk to her. i find it fun. i might do it more in the future... depending on if it annoys her or not and if you want me too...**


	12. Morning at the Motto's

**Took me a while, huh? I'm mad at myself for taking forever! Well, enjoy!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 12**_

_**Morning at the Motto's**_

Ghost white mist floated just off the cold, hard, black ground. The darkness in the background swirled dark violet and black. The chill air was crisp and odor less.

This seemed to go on and on in all directions. No end to it. The gloomy obscurity went on… forever.

Was this a dream?

I stood there gazing at my surroundings. I never had a dream so clear my entire life. My dreams were usually fuzzy. Hard to see. Why can I see things so clear now?

I took a step forward. My step echoed in the darkness. I took another step. Another echo. Thus, began a pattern. Step. Echo. Step. Echo.

I wandered aimlessly in the shadows. I was there for a reason, I knew, but why, I did not. I thought that if I literally searched for the reason, I'd find it. What else could I do?

Step. Echo. Step. I stopped. Somewhere up ahead was something. But _what_?

I scampered to it. It was a door. A door made entirely of light.

I stepped through.

On the other side was a room. This room was filled with puzzles and games. It was filled with simple toys. It was also filled with pictures of creatures- Duel Monsters, they looked like- and other things of the picture nature.

That was what filled the room. The walls and ceiling were of old rock. The rock had ancient hieroglyphics on them. Ancient Egyptain to be exact.

I marveled at the room. I had never seen anything like that before.

Nor had I seen a door like the one on the other side of the strange yet comforting room. It was white with big, blue, glass orbs on it. The doorknob was of the same blue glass.

The beauty of it. I stared at it for what seemed like hours soaking in all I could of its splendor.

I finally grabbed the doorknob. I found it to be real crystal. I stroked the other larger orbs on the door. All real blue crystal.

I turned the handle and opened the door. With curiosity my guide, I penetrated the threshold. Once inside, I saw such majesty, such magnificence that I nearly fainted.

The room had a bluish- violet- pink glow to it. Artifacts of great worth were scattered throughout the extent of the space. Golds and silvers. Bronze and gems. All of great value and rarity.

There were silks hung from frames and strolled about the floor. I delighted in the touch of my bare feet against the smooth silk.

Everything was beyond astonishing. But what caught my eye was a golden symbol on one wall. It was of a daisy. I traced the outline. Smooth, perfect curves. Symmetry just right. How could something created so flawlessly exist?

As I finished tracing the last of the circle in the middle of the flower, the room vanished.

Scenes, images began to flash before my eyes.

A woman with blue white skin and dark purple hair with a daisy on her neck. An ancient city. Duel monsters cards. Five jewel pyramids. A Yami No Game.

What was I seeing? What did it mean?

* * *

I woke up with blinking eyes. From the window on the other side of the room golden sunlight poured in, brightening the room.

I was lying on my side, blanket still covering me, pillow still behind my head. I guess when I sleep on couches I'm not as restless of a sleeper like I usually am.

I sat up rubbing my smarting eyes. My eyes plus sunlight equals AH. (The eye doctor says that, because of the light color, anyone with blue eyes, like me, needs to wear sunglasses in bright sunlight for it hurts them more than other eye pigments.)

When my eyes got used to the dazzling luminosity, I looked around at my surroundings. I was still in Yugi's living room. And Aeron was still… asleep. Surprise, surprise.

I got up from the couch and walked over to Aeron. I shook her awake.

"Five more minahhh." She muttered. I shook her again. This time she woke up. "Eh…" she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Erica, why are we up so early?"

"I truly don't know how early it is, but I do believe we shouldn't sleep in. It would be rude to our hosts." I sat down on the loveseat next to my friend, who was sitting up by this point.

"You still," Aeron stifled a yawn, "feel awkward about staying here don't you?"

"Yeah, I mean, they believed our implausible story, allowed us to stay in here, and aren't freaked out at all. Ra, have you honestly seen anybody who was like that except on TV?" I admit I can believe in Santa and magic, but people acting humane to the extreme, I couldn't comprehend the fact.

"Yeah, not many people act like that. Just be," Aeron isn't a morning person, she'd rather be asleep, hence her body demanded a yawn be placed in order, "glad Yugi and his friends do. Besides, they said they were waiting for us. We're supposed to save the world. So what'd'ya expect?"

I contemplated for a moment. She was right… a bit smug… but right.

"Ooohh." She moaned. "I am sooo tired. And my clothes feel… slept in."

"That's because they were slept in genius." It was true. Both I and Aeron slept in our clothes that night. Our clothes… but, smartly, not our shoes.

I stood up and staggered across the room. I wasn't much of an early bird myself either, although, I do try to get up around noon the latest.

I was heading toward the couch I had slept on and when I got there I picked up the blanket, folded it correctly, and set it down on the couch. I set the pillow on top of the folded cover. Something I never did at home too much, if I could help it. But I wanted to be polite, so I did it today.

Aeron stood up, tottering a bit. She obviously wasn't going to be polite and fix the 'bed', so I walked back over and did it for her.

Aeron just moved over to a chair, the chair that Yugi was sitting in the night before, and collapsed right down on it.

_Funny, _I though while I cleaned up the loveseat, making it look neat, _Aeron is so tomboyish, lazy, untidy, and… I 'm the opposite of her. I admit I have my moments, which happen more often than not. I am girly-ish, more active, tidier-ish… you could've sworn Aeron and I were Yami and Hikari._

I stole a glance at the lounging Aeron. Perhaps we were just that. _But not in the gay fanfic way…_I smiled in humor at that thought. Part of the humor was that I couldn't believe I had that thought. The other… it just sounded funny.

When I finished making _her _mess look presentable, I sat down. I was tired. But I was also something else. Hungry.

I was hungry but didn't have the courage to leave the room and find the fridge. I didn't really want to seem, as I said before, impolite.

Good thing I didn't have too, because just then we heard knock on the door. From behind it, we heard a muffled Yugi voice asking "Is it alright if I come in?"

"Yeah, it's alright Yugi." I called back.

The door opened revealing a Yugi overloaded with three plates. One on his head, one in each hand. How that one on his head stayed there, I don't know. You'd think his hair would push it off.

Aeron giggled behind her hand. I guess she did something, ineffectual, to keep from seeming boorish.

I was on the verge of chuckling too, but I asked instead, "You need some help?"

"Yes please," he answered balancing the plate atop his spiky head.

I ran over there and took the dangerously wobbling plate. It turned out bacon, eggs, and toast (let's not forget the fork) was on the white platter.

"I thought you guys might want some breakfast." He explained. "Hope you like eggs and bacon."

"Oh, thanks!" I said. I just walked back to the couch ready to eat the food on the plate I was already holding.

Yugi handed a plate to Aeron who took it, greedily taking in the smell of the toast. She likes toast. But no jam. She only likes the toast and the butter.

Yugi sat on the loveseat and picked up an egg with his fork.

"Hm," Aeron said taking a humongous bite out of her toast, "coming in here to eat with us… you want to hear more of that TV show don't'cha?"

"Aeron, don't talk with your mouth full." I sighed.

"It's ok. I'm used to it. Hanging out with Joey and all." Yugi said. I gave a nervous laugh. "But that hadn't crossed my mind," Yugi continued, "I just can't leave my food sitting anywhere- if it has eggs on it. Atem likes eggs. If he sees any eggs, no matter whose plate it's on, he'll eat 'em!"

After a small silence, I said, nibbling on a piece of bacon, "So do you always get up this early?"

"No. I usually sleep at most four more hours." Yugi replied. "10's the latest I'll sleep."

"What, did you expect we'd be up this early?" Aeron opposed.

"I wasn't exactly sure. I thought it'd be best if I got up early. Besides, I woke up pretty early and didn't go back to sleep so..."

"I pretty much woke up." I stated to no one in particular.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Miss-The-Early-Bird-Gets-The-Worm here, I'd still be asleep for another 8-10 hours." Aeron said. "I'm amazed you're up this early, Erica."

"One: I didn't say that. Two: something woke me up is all." I defended.

"What woke you up?" Aeron asked. She always needed a reason after that day we became friends… I guess I taught her that.

"I don't know… that dream I had I guess."

"Was it a nightmare or just a dream?"

Yugi just sat there eating his eggs. He apparently didn't mind we were having a conversation alone without him, ignoring him.

"Eh… just a dream, I guess. I'm not that sure. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't a normal dream either, though."

"That doesn't really explain anything."

"I know." I thought back on the reverie. I couldn't forget any part of it. It was permanently burnt into my mind…

Sensing tenseness between the two friends, Yugi decided to change the subject.

"So what do you think will be happening, what'll make you save the world?" he asked. He didn't know.

"If this copies any plot from the series, an evil guy who wants to either destroy or rule the world will come here to Domino, join a tournament to get to us (a tournament that we'll have to join ourselves), and we'll have to beat him in a duel." Aeron said. She seemed pretty sure.

I wanted to say that I wasn't exactly sure about her reckoning. But I wasn't exactly sure about my own myself. _Ugh. That dream really confused my brain._ I thought shaking my head.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Yugi agreed.

At that exact moment, Atem stuck his pointy head through the door.

"Oh that's where you were, Yugi." He said.

Yugi turned his head to face the door. "Yes, this is where I were." He said jokingly.

I giggled behind my hand while Aeron rolled her eyes.

"So what're you doing in here?" Atem asked Yugi as he walked over and sat down on the loveseat next to him.

"Eating and talking to Aeron and Erica." Yugi simply stated at he took a bite of toast. Atem eyed the eggs on the tinier twin's plate. He really looked like he just wanted to reach out and take one to eat. He tried to do just that.

Key word: tried. Yugi must've realized what the Yami was intending, just before made the effort to try. The Hikari stood up and walked over to the couch and sat down next to me.

I held back a laugh. _Poor Yami,_ I thought.

I looked at his plate, then mine. Mine was empty. His still had two eggs and half a piece of toast on it. He also had two pieces of bacon on it.

Make that one egg and a corner of toast. He just ate difference between what he had before and what he had then. There was still the bacon to eat. He didn't look like he had the intention of eating it though.

"Are you going to eat that bacon?" I asked. I really didn't want to be rude by asking that question, but I like bacon. If he wasn't going to eat it, I sure would.

"Oh, nah. You can have it if you want." Said Yugi to my surprise, I didn't think he would actually say that I could have it.

He put the pieces of bacon on my plate. I picked the first one up and noshed on it.

Two seconds later, Yugi said aloud, "Listen Atem, I wasn't going to eat them anyway so stop complaining."

Aeron and I looked at him funny and Atem made a face.

"Our… uh… mind link still works." Yugi explained to me and Aeron.

Our expressions turned from confused to happily not confused (meaning we understood what he said, but you probably already knew that so…).

We didn't see it, since we were looking at Yugi at the moment, but Atem smirked. "Yeah, it still works. So no secrets and no finishing your own sentences."

"You are not…" Yugi began.

"Finishing your sentences?" Atem finished Yugi's sentence to his annoyance.

"Why do you do that?"

"It's funny." Atem laughed. "And you know it's all in good fun. I know you know that." he tapped his head as if to say "I read your mind again".

Yugi growled angrily. He really wished his Yami would stop doing that.

"Perhaps," Aeron suggested, "you should ask Ryou how to close _off _the link. It seems to me he does it a lot."

"You know he does and that's a good idea!" Yugi said to Aeron excitedly.

I just sat there. Why enter the conversation when it was much too interesting to watch? Better than cable, is all I can say.

Sadly, my show stopped due to a song sounding out of nowhere.

"_My sister's sight is on the line, I gotta win- they'll learn to run soon as they see my creepy chin- I'M SCARY-"_

I realized at that point that it was my phone which I left on and in my pocket.

"OH BOLLIX!" I cried. I reached into my skirt pocket and hurriedly fiddled with my phone to turn it off. Once I did, I just stared at the small, black phone with the word: **Yu-Gi-Oh! **written in golden rhinestones on the back.

"What was _that_?" Yugi asked.

"What, my ring tone or my cry?" I replied back.

"Um… let's go with the ring tone for now."

"It's Brooklyn Rage. A **Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged **parody of Lady Gaga's Poker face."

"Should I ask for a further explanation… or would it be too long to listen to?" he asked Aeron in a whisper. I made a frown. They didn't even notice anyway.

"Everything after _or _is correct. Don't." she whispered back. My frown deepened.

This time Aeron saw it and asked me this to get that faker-frown off my face. "Who was it anyway?"

"I dunno?" I muttered really low. I didn't look in my haste to turn it off.

"Well check! If it's your parents, you'll have to lie and tell them something about why you're not home right now! I don't think they'll believe us if we said we were in the same room as the main characters of our favorite TV show!"

I did her bidding. It wasn't Mom or Dad. The Caller ID on my cell said it was somebody else. Eldred.

"It wasn't Mom or Dad."

"Was it my aunt? I doubt that but..."

"No, it was Eldred."

"Oh. What does the _geek_ want?"

"I don't know! He didn't leave a message! I don't think it'll be wise to call him here anyway!"

"Who's Eldred?" Atem asked suddenly.

"Oh," Aeron answered his simple question, "he's Erica's nerdy friend."

"He's also the vice president of a fan club at school." I added. "I'm the president."

"I'm not even going to ask what fan club it is, because I think I already know." Yugi said. We all giggled at this. Everything lately was revolving around **Yu-Gi-Oh!** And it was completely obvious.

After we all finished our breakfast, Yugi volunteered to take our dishes to the kitchen. As he did so and after he came back, we talked of what we might do for the rest of the day. Yugi suggested that he and Atem give us a tour of Domino, but of course he wanted to ask the rest of his friends if they'd like to join also.

After we excused him to go make the calls, he jogged to the phone. The first person on his list to call was the Bakura residence.


	13. Morning at the Bakura Abode

**Ch. 13... same time of morning, same day. this chapter shows the typical morning of Ryou and Bakura...**

**O, i just wanted to say thanks to all who reviewed on the last Chapters... sorry if my thanks r a bit late...**

**anyway... ENJOY!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 13**_

_**Morning at the Bakura Abode**_

Ryou woke up extremely early. He had been doing that since Christmas. It was really getting on his nerves. The good thing about it though... wait… there was nothing good about waking up early.

There was some good though this year. DisneyChannel had played a lot of Disney movies lately. So Bakura was entertained.

But Bakura, at this moment, wasn't watching TV. He was playing a game on Barbie-dot-com. For some odd reason, he was intrigued in that _Take Care of Baby Krissy_, or whatever it's called, game.

Ryou sometimes thought that Bakura thought he was a girl.

Ryou flopped down on the soft couch and grabbed the remote. He switched on the TV. The channel it came on was, of course, DisneyChannel. It had that one commercial that said "Now it's time for the DisneyChannel Movie". The movie that was coming on apparently was…

"Hey, Bakura! _The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning _is on!"

"Really?" Bakura said charging into the living room. "Indeed it is!" he said excitedly. Bakura heard a snicker come from behind him. From on the couch.

"What in Ra's name is so friggin' funny!" he demanded.

Ryou stopped snickering but kept the smile on. "You."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you." Ryou began to laugh again.

"Why am I funny?"

"A life-threatening, evil, monstrous tomb robber… liking _Disney_ movies. It's hilarious!"

Bakura scowled. Perhaps he did have a soft side for the films… but did that make him less menacing?

No. And he wouldn't let it.

Bakura was about to show Ryou how frightening he can be, but the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Ryou said. He jump up off the couch and ran to the phone.

Bakura, a little mad at fate/karma, whichever caused the phone to ring, fell down onto the couch in Ryou's place and began to watch the movie, quite contently, I might add.

Ryou answered the phone to find it to be Yugi.

"Hey, Yugi, what'cha want?" he asked.

"_Oh, nothing, Atem and I were just going to give Aeron and Erica a tour of Domino. We were wondering if you and Bakura wanted to come…"_

"Oh, yeah! I'll come for sure! But let me ask Bakura…" Ryou put his hand over the phone and called out to Bakura.

"What!" a really annoyed Bakura voice answered back.

"Do you wanna come with me, Yugi, and Atem to give Aeron and Erica a tour of Domino?"

"Why would I want to hang around those freaks?"

"They're not freaks! Now, do you want to go or not!"

"Do I have-"

"You don't, but if you keep whining about it and not properly answering me… then YES YOU WILL!!!"

"Oh, fine. But after my show ends!"

"That's why you didn't want to go?"

"IT'S A GOOD REASON!"

Ryou seriously thought Bakura was going crazy. He remembered watching a couple of the newer Disney movies like Minutemen back when Bakura and the other spirits were just, well, spirits. Bakura hated the movies and made him quit watching then because he thought they were too childish. Now _he_ was watching them.

Ryou took his hand off the phone. "Bakura says yes… but we'll have to go in about two hours. Bakura wants to finish watching a movie that's on TV."

"_What movie is it?"_ Yugi asked. He knew the Thief King would delay them somehow, but a movie?

"What do you think? _The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning_."

"_Oh, gosh."_

"Yeah… I don't know what's wrong with him. Just before the movie came on, he was playing on Barbie-dot-com."

"_You know that last statement I said? I repeat it."_

"Yeah, I second that."

Yugi giggled over the phone. _"Well, call me when you're ready."_

"Alright, see ya!"

"_See ya!"_

Ryou hung up the phone. He might as well get ready. He decided to take a long shower though. He wanted to think on how Bakura is becoming a harmless kitten and whether to stop the metamorphosis or let it be.

* * *

"Bakura, come on! I've already called Yugi and we are to meet him, Atem, and the girls in ten minutes!" Ryou called to Bakura, who was taking his _sweet time _getting ready.

"I'm coming!" Bakura yelled as he came down the stairs. He was wearing a blue-white stripped shirt and a long, black coat. He was also wearing jeans and tennis shoes. He looked nearly exactly the way he looked in what Erica and Aeron **(A/N: AND ME!) **would call the "Memory Arc".

Ryou, on the other hand, was wearing a bright blue sweatshirt and jeans. Tennis shoes also. He was even wearing his favorite purple jacket.

"Where are we going anyway?" Bakura asked gruffly.

"First, the park, to meet up with them. Then, wherever the mood strikes us, I guess."

"Really?" Bakura asked with a certain interest Ryou didn't like. "Would that also count where the mood strikes _me_?"

"I know what you're thinking, and no, we're not going anywhere near those kinds of places."

Bakura humph-ed.

Ryou turned on his heel and opened the front door. They began heading for the park.

The trip there wasn't as pleasant as you'd think.

They argued a lot.

I will spare you the details.

* * *

**I want to say sorry 2 Bakura for making him watch all those Disney movies... **

**I love u 'Kura-kun!**

**'Kura:*watching Disney movie, paying Hotaru no attention***

**Me: i feel so ignored... *sobs in corner while Yugi and Atem try to calm me down* **

**Ryou: thanks Bakura! we might not be in many more chapters because of you!**

**Bakura: WHAT I DO****?!?**


	14. Diceboy!

**Me: i sure like to take my time dont i?**

**Erica: Well, you cant help it if you get writers block, can you?**

**Duke: Hey, i'm in this Chapter!!**

**Me: And more to come!**

**Ryou: Me and Bakura are still in the story as major characters right?**

**Me: of course! in fact, you know how you can pick two characters that are major ones in the story to show on the site to where you see the story?**

**Ryou: uhhh.... yeah!**

**Me: i'm putting you on there as a main character.**

**Ryou: Yay!**

**Bakura: What about me?**

**Me: Sorry, i already have Yugi as the other...**

**Yugi: i feel special! Anyway, Hotaru does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! and if she did you'd see a bit of tendershipping and puzzleshipping... whatever those are... she just told me to say them...**

**Me: *sweatdrop* Way to seem proffessional Yugi. Anyway, enjoy the fic!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 14**_

_**Diceboy!!!**_

"Thanks for letting me borrow a jacket, Yugi." I said.

"You're welcome."

We, meaning Yugi, Atem, Aeron, and I, were waiting in front of the park for Ryou and Bakura to get here… And they were taking there sweet time about it!

Sorry for the angry tone. I only have one outfit. And it isn't suited for cold.

I was wearing the same thing I was yesterday, but I was wearing one of Yugi's jackets too. It was a red jacket that fit me perfectly. But I wasn't going to say that. It might lower his self-esteem.

Aeron was wearing the same thing as she was yesterday too.

Yugi, on the other hand, wore a completely different outfit than yesterday. He wore a bright yellow jacket over a dark red shirt. Of course he wore jeans and tennis shoes.

Now, Atem _wasn't _wearing leather! Amazing right! Although, I think he should have. I wouldn't mind it at all.

Wait! Did I just say that? Oh Ra! No, bad Erica, no having fangirl moments! **(A/N: Me: Don't worry, I was having one too! Erica: Would you get outta here!)**

Anyway, we stood there waiting for… I don't know how long. I wasn't wearing a watch, and I doubt I can tell time with the puzzle I had around my neck.

The puzzle. The Millennium Puzzle. Shaped like an upside-down pyramid and completely solid, it was full of mystical and ancient power. It seemed to me that all who's wielded it had a great destiny bestowed upon them. I could possibly be one of them.

But, dare I admit that I _don't want to be_?

I feared what I had to do, naturally. Who wouldn't be? Whatever it was… it had to be life-threatening. I mean, how can you save the world and not have to face death?

I shuddered. I shouldn't be thinking about that. It'd ruin the day.

However, those grey, rain clouds that were filling the sky seemed to be threatening to ruin the day as well.

I clutched the puzzle absent-mindedly.

"Hey!" I heard a shout coming from farther down the sidewalk. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a black dot and a purple dot standing there. The purple dot was waving.

Suddenly, I realized who the dots were. Apparently, Yugi did too because he made a shout back and waved.

Ryou raced up to us with Bakura close behind (and by close, I mean like twenty feet, Bakura wasn't much of a runner). When Ryou had reached the spot where we were standing, he hunched over slightly… he was panting.

"Sorry we're late." He panted.

"Ah, you're not too late. You're actually earlier than I suspected. I thought Bakura's Disney movie would take a take a bit long. Well, either that or he'd want to watch another one." Yugi said lightly, like he didn't know the Thief King was right there.

Bakura glared. "Watch it midget." He said threateningly.

"You better watch it tomb robber." Atem retorted back, even though the threat wasn't pointed at him.

The passing of threats and increasing insults between the pharaoh and thief went on for about ten minutes.

Aeron and I just stood there watching the cold war while Yugi and Ryou either shook their head or face-palmed.

Yugi eventually looked our way. "I bet you're enjoying this, aren't you?" he muttered.

Aeron mustn't've heard him for she just kept watching the battle. I heard him nonetheless and nodded saying: "Can you blame us?" I had a slight sneer on my face. Yugi smirked back.

"Well, you're not going to enjoy it for long," Ryou said plainly, yet with a lot of annoyance in the tone.

He grabbed Bakura by the collar and jerked him back extremely sharply after he walked behind him.

Bakura let out a yelp, which satisfied Atem immensely.

"How did you-!" Bakura began, but Ryou cut him off.

"So, where are we going first, to start the tour?" Ryou asked Yugi.

"I… don't… know." Yugi murmured, his eyes darting around the open space, not daring to make eye-contact.

"How about the mall? Wouldn't that be the easiest place to start?" Atem suggested.

"Sure, sounds good to me. " I said cheerily.

"Alright." Aeron agreed.

"Oh, great. We'll be there all day!" Bakura whined.

I looked over at Bakura. "Wha?" I was slightly confused. Did he mean?

Soon realizing what he meant, I got a bit angry. "Hey, just because we're girls doesn't mean that we spend hours at malls! That's stereotypical! And sexist for that manner!"

"Ahem. Erica, as much as I agree… you _do _know that part isn't _exactly_ true." Aeron declared.

It took me a few seconds to realize what she meant, and when I did, I quickly corrected myself. "Well, we don't spend hours in malls unless we happen to come across a game shop."

"Really," Yugi said while trying, yet failing, to hide his excited tone, "well, I know a bunch of good game shops, other than our own. We could skip the mall idea and head to some of those."

"As much as I hate to admit it, but I like the twerps plan." Bakura said with his head facing his left and his eyes closed.

"What about you two?" Yugi inquired of Ryou and Atem.

"Fine with me." Ryou-the-innocent said.

"I think it's a great idea." Atem said with a tone full of enthusiasm and a sparkle in his dark amethyst eyes. He liked games.

"Alright!" Yugi was excited. I could easily tell.

The excitement spread like wildfire the next couple of seconds for even I was getting excited.

* * *

Who knew there were so many gaming shops in Domino!? I mean, the show never showed all these! The only game shops _shown _in the show were the Kame Game Shop- Yugi's grandpa's shop and Duke's shop.

We had checked out six in the mall, twelve on the streets, not including the Kame, how many more are left?!

I might sound like I am complaining, but that's actually my feet the ones complaining._ I_ was having the time of my life! My feet on the other hand, were not. If feet could talk, my feet would be screaming at me to sit down.

My poor feet.

Of course, my feet weren't the only ones hurting. The others had aching feet too. We were all for going home but had decided to go to one more store just for the heck of it.

We had been talking- and by talking I mean making fun of Bakura and his Disney movies- and hadn't been looking what street we were on. Guess were we ended up?

"Hey!" we heard a shout come from… above us? We looked up to see who shouted- Bakura with a scowl- to see that the one who made the yell was none other than the waving, black haired, green-eyed Duke Devlin.

Well, doesn't that answer my question!

Duke was leaning out of a window far up on a yellow wall in his game shop. He apparently had seen his friends Yugi and Ryou- with their Yamis of course- and decided to call to them.

* * *

After a few ten minutes, we were inside Duke's warm shop checking out the merchandise and talking. Well, Duke, Yugi, Ryou, and the two Yamis were talking. Aeron and I were too engrossed in the game retail to really _talk_. But we listened.

"Long time no see Pharaoh! Last time I saw you was six-seven months ago." Duke said to Atem who replied back, but I wasn't listening. I paid attention only half the time. I inferred, though, that it had something to do with his name since Duke stopped calling his Pharaoh.

After that, I kind of just heard random statements.

Ryou: "Oh, don't worry, he's tame!"

Bakura: "Watch it Hikari!"

Yugi: "Is this the latest game?"

Atem: "Whack… A… Mole…? What kind of game is that?"

Duke: "You know, if I had my way, I would've gotten rid of all these other games and just kept my game of Dungeon Dice Monsters and Duel Monsters."

Bakura: "Then you'd only get as many customers as Yugi. Oh, wait that would mean you wouldn't have _any_ customers!"

Yugi: "HEY!"

The drabble went on like this for a while. The whole time I was paying attention yet not paying attention. I was half and half. Nothing that was said interested me so… can you blame me?

But then…

I heard my name.

"Erica and Aeron got here kinda sudden. There was this prophecy that Marik and the other Ishtars told us that said 'A person from another dimension will come to save our world'. Or something like that. We think that that person is one of them." Yugi was saying. At the mention of my name, I span around to see what they were talking about.

_Should've known it be _that. I thought. A feeling of dread and embarrassment intertwined in my stomach.

"Really?" Duke said looking over at us. Aeron had finally realized they were talking about her too and turned around to face them also. "Didn't know that. Are you sure?"

I felt a small prick of anger pierce me but Aeron was the one who blurted out. "So you think one of us _can't _do it, _Diceboy_?"

"Well, seeing that you know my nickname without ever meeting me before proves you're from another dimension," Duke walked up to us, seeing as we were only in eighth grade and he was 16, the boy with the dice hanging from his ear towered over us, "but, as for the saving the world part, let's test it."

"Test it?" the words came from my mouth in a small sqeak.


	15. Dungeon Dice Monsters

**Me: Finally, it's up! **

**Erica: Yay! i finally can get to do something after all this time! wait... how long has it been?**

**Me: how the Ra should i know???**

**Erica: idk... you're the only one in here with me so i can only ask you.**

**Me: it is pretty lonely....**

**Erica: perhaps, you should make up your own Yami like all the other cool fanfic writers... like that one girl... i forget her name...**

**Me: perhaps.... i'll think about it. while i'm thinking, enjoy da chaptah!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 15**_

_**Dungeon Dice Monsters**_

"Test it?"

"Yeah. I challenge you two to a game. If you win, that means I believe you're the one to save the world. If you lose… you get the point." Duke said. A smirk played across his lips. Why was I getting the feeling that he wanted to test his wits in his own game against us?

Did I blame him? I don't think I did. I mean, he played the game twice in the series and lost… twice. I guess he wanted to feel like he could win his own game.

Did I want to play? No. I don't really know how to play Dungeon Dice Monsters. How the heck could I play?

_He could be thinking of another game… _I thought.

"I accept!" Aeron stated. "What's the game?"

"Dungeon Dice Monsters."

_Never mind._

I looked over to Yugi and the others. Yugi gave me a look that told me that this was pretty normal for him lately.

_Oh, gosh._

"Hm… alright."

_Why do you have to be so competitive? _I thought desperately at Aeron. Accepting a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters! Did she even know how to play? What was she thinking!?

"Good. Follow me." Duke lead us to a room that looked exactly like the dueling area he had in the show. Episodes 46-49 of the original series came rushing back to me. No wonder Aeron was a Joey fangirl. She was a lot like him.

The two duelists got on either side of the dueling field, on the raising platforms, and began to play.

* * *

Aeron came back to our group with her head bent in embarrassment.

"You did your best, Aeron." I said, reassuringly.

"That was the most embarrassing loss… I have ever had." She replied; her tone was extremely dull.

Duke came up to us on the other side with a winner's smile on face.

"Duke, you really miss all the Shadow Games, don't you??" Ryou asked with his hand on his head.

"Can you blame me for being bored?" he responded. "One thing's for sure in my eyes, Aeron isn't going to be the world saver. Yugi saved the world thousands of times and beat me in this game. He didn't even know how to play it when he challenged me!"

"I already knew I wasn't going to save the world." Aeron reported. "I truly think that'll be Erica." Aeron had lifted her head at this point.

I asked: "Why me?!"

"Before I believe that," Duke said, twirling a lock of his hair, "I need to test it myself. Would you mind playing Dungeon Dice Monsters with me?" he aimed that question to me.

I really didn't feel like playing. I mean, I've never played Dungeon Dice Monsters before. Some of the rules I could still remember from the show. But not all, and who knew how many rules to this game were in the _universe_ of **Yu-Gi-Oh!**

Also, I've played Duel Monsters with friends and family only. I've never played that game- or any other for that matter- in any sort of tournament or with equipment like this.

Ra, no matter what game I play here, I'm gonna be doomed.

"Do I have to?" I whined with my eyes downcast.

"Yes, you do," Aeron began to push me towards a blue dueling platform, "now go!"

"Eh-eh!"

Aeron pushed me atop the dais and it began to rise into the air.

_No way out now. _Was my first thought. My second thought:_ Aeron… it's not nice to make people avenge your losses._

Once Duke was ready to begin, I asked, "Um… could you explain the rules to me again?"

I was nervous… I really thought I might lose. But I had to play, nonetheless.

"Sure." Duke said. "Alright, see those dice?"

"Yeah."

"Pick 15 of those."

I did so. I remembered, from the show, there are die levels. Knowing this, I tried to make sure my high level dice leveled out with my low level dice.

"Alright. Hey, I see you know that the dice have levels. Well done and well picked! OK, now listen carefully. The central part of Dungeon Dice monsters is obviously, the dice.

Each player has 15 6-sided dice. There are 6 symbols on each die, called Crests. A player rolls 3 dice each turn, and from the Crests rolled, makes their move. Players alternate turns rolling dice until a player's Dungeon Master loses all its Heart Points. What makes the game a true challenge is that a monster cannot move except along Dungeon Path, which is created when a monster is summoned. So, careful placement of pathway can mean an easy path behind opposing lines. But sloppy dimensioning could spell defeat for a player.

The monsters in Dungeon Dice Monsters have 3 main stats: Attack, Defense, and Health. The Attack and Defense are in multiples of 10. All monsters have at least 1 Health point. When a monster loses all of its Health points, it is destroyed. Damage to health points is determined by attacking and defending. Some monsters are Tunnelers, meaning they can move past other monsters (normally, monsters cannot move over each other.). There are also Flyers, who can not only move over other monsters, but can only be attacked by other Flyers or by monsters with Special Abilities saying they can attack Flyers. Also, there are many monsters with Special Abilities, although many require Trap or Magic Crests to use…"

* * *

I listened intently. I wasn't going to screw up. Especially with the _King of Games _standing right there! I wasn't going to embarrass myself in front of _Yu-Gi-Oh. _Why the heck would I want to do that?

_Perhaps, _I thought, _that is why I'm nervous… but if I was, then why was I nervous when my parents wanted to compete in the junior tournament back home? Why was I relieved when I got sick just before the tournament with the flu? _

I sighed inwardly.

"Okay. You got it all?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, let's begin!"

And thus, the game began.

Duke started off.

"Go dice roll!" Duke rolled his dice and peered at them for half a second. "Looks like I got two summoning crests. Level One."

_Least it's a Level One._ I thought. That wasn't as reassuring as I thought it would be though.

"Dimension the dice!" Duke yelled.

_Why people in games like this have to yell, I'll never know._

"Killer Needle!"

A big, evil wasp looking thing came out of the dice on the gaming field. I gulped. I had never told anyone this before, but I have a slight phobia to wasps. I had a _very _bad experience with at least ten of the little demons.

This was something you can infer Aeron didn't even know if you saw the look on her face when she saw the look on mine. I wasn't doing well with hiding my fear at the moment.

"It's just the first turn, Erica, no need to be worried." She called to me.

"That's not what I'm afraid of!" I called back, not taking my eyes off the monstrosity.

"Then what are you afraid of?" she asked, a bit confused.

"That thing." I pointed to the demonic creature. "It doesn't look too nice."

"What?"

"I had a very bad experience with wasps OK!" I snapped.

"Oh… no need to get snappy!"

"It's your turn." Duke cut in.

"Mm." I nodded my head once and took the dice in my hands. I shook my loosely clasped hands and tossed the dice. They rolled a while but finally stopped. Nothing matched!

I gulped.

"Too bad." Duke's tone had a bit of smugness in it. He rolled again and it turned out that he could summon another monster. He did so and_ it_ turned out to be a level one monster.

It looked like some gay clown.

I bit my bottom lip. I kept telling myself not to laugh. A chuckle escaped though.

"W-what's so funny?" Duke must've heard me.

"Nothing." I quickly said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aeron smile and shake her head. I knew she was thinking the same thing as me.

Duke declared his turn was over, thus allowing mine to begin. I rolled the three dice.

One stopped. Summoning crest.

A second stopped. Moving crest.

The third stopped. A summoning crest!

"Well done." Duke said. I smiled a small smile, a happy one. I dimensioned the dice and it appeared to be the level one: Karbonala Warrior!

The moment I dimensioned this monster, something… sparked… within me. It was small. Very. But yet, even though I couldn't place it, I somehow knew it. It was something familiar.

We played on. That spark turned into a burning ember. My nervousness began to recede slowly. I was beginning to say "Go Dice Roll!" and "Dimension the Dice!" as I did the actions that called for the sayings. Very meekly at first, yes, but I did.

On we played. I began to lose track of the time. I began to forget the spectators.

I realized what the feeling was, which was now a full, raging, white hot flame. It was confidence, enjoyment. A mixture of the two, to be precise.

I was having the time of my life! If the viewers were cheering for me every time I conquered a monster, I didn't hear. If they'd moan every time I lost a monster- or a heart point, I was down to one now and so was Duke- I didn't know. I was unconscious to everything but the game… and the enemy.

"Ha!" Duke jeered. "You got to do better than that! One monster is standing between me and your last heart point! When I defeat it, my victory will be assured!"

"Oh, really?" I scoffed back. "You sure count your duel cards before you open the package. How do you know you'll win!? Devlin, I'd not get my hopes up if I were you!"

"Well, then. Your turn."

"Alright then. GO DICE ROLL!" Two summoning crests.

"Ha! Good for you. Too bad there's no room!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." I had already dimensioned the dice. I pointed to the field.

The dice had opened in the correct way to create a dungeon pathway.

"WHAT! Oh no!"

"Once again that happens to you, ay, Devlin? But who did the dice reveal?"

The dice revealed a monster no one, not even me, expected. A level 3 monster_. The Dark Magician Girl._

All that was standing in my way was Duke's Blast Lizard.

My Dark Magician Girl had 20 health points, 20 attack, and 20 defense.

His Blast Lizard had originally had 20 health points (not now, though, ha-ha), 10 attack, and 10 defense.

I shot through it with my Dark Magician Girl's special attack and destroyed it easily.

With that ugly thing out of the way, there was one thing left to do.

"Alright, Duke, I guess it's game _over_. Dark Magician Girl, attack his last heart point_ directly_!" I yelled. My tone was full of confidence, enjoyment, and it had a hint of pride.

* * *

"You were awesome!" Aeron greeted me as I rejoined the group.

"Thanks." I smiled bashfully. I had returned back to my old self. Although that confident, strong, determined, etc. side was still there inside me. I could feel it.

"Seriously, it was like you were another person up there!" Yugi said excitedly.

"Yeah, and we should know, right, Yugi?" Ryou added.

We, all except Bakura, laughed at the statement because it was true.

"My test proves that you're the planet saver." Duke said smugly. **(A/N: is it me or does that sound a bit stupid??? Hmmm. Eh. Oh well. Back to da story!**)

Aeron leaned over toward me a little. "Told you." She said in a cheery-ish tone.

I only half smiled.

_Why me?! _


	16. An Enemy and a Friend

**Erica: you have a poll up?**

**Me: yep.**

**Erica: really? cool! can i take it?**

**Me: sure, why not?**

**Erica: yay!**

**Me: alright *pops fingers* first off, short chapter. some newer chapters might be pretty short. reason 1: chapter calls to be short. reason 2: i'm feeling sick at the moment and cant keep writing like this... bleh.**

**second: chapter 16... yay! never thought i'd get this far! also, i'm getting the feeling that if i dont hurry up, this will be a _very long fanfic_...**

**Neh. oh well. anyway: ENJOY! **

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 16**_

_**An Enemy and a Friend**_

She sat atop a building in New York, New York. High in the sky, a soft wind blew. In the breeze, her dark purple hair lifted slightly upward and drifted behind her.

She stared loathingly at the giant city below her.

"Foolish mortals. Creating a world like this." She muttered bitterly.

She tilted her head back and stared up at the baby blue sky. "Why am I here anyway? In this putrid city? Far too north for my opinion. Far too cold."

The woman in the short, black tunic with red orbs on it stood up and peered down at the wasteland down below her. "And far too polluted."

She jumped up and began to float in mid-air. She had that power. For how could she not? She was a spirit now. A spirit with a solid body.

She flew south to see the warmer weather.

As she flew, she planned on what to do with her new "life".

"These filthy, stupid, animalistic people do not deserve to live on this ruined planet. So, I could either blueprint a plan to rule the world… or destroy it. If I destroy it though, it would raze me also. Hm. What a crossroad.

Perhaps, I should destroy all the things that don't deserve to live and keep a chosen few. Yes, I like plan. Just destroy most of the world. What is left, I will be queen of. Heh. Margherita, you've outdone yourself once again." She muttered.

It seemed reasonable. It seemed smart. The outline of what she was to do did.

But what will be the body of the plan… the meat.

She has the what and why. But the _how_???

How was she going to do the _how_???

"This is something to think on while I'm not distracted by flying. I shall find a place to stop, rest, and think somewhere south. Wow. Two good ideas in one day! I really ought to celebrate this day!"

But little did she know that she had a hanger-on.

* * *

Two inches in height and not ¼ of an inch in width, what looked like a fly followed the spirit Margherita.

She tried to be inconspicuous as she possibly could. She only realized that she's too tiny to actually be seen at just a glance after a couple of hours of flying.

Boy, she felt stupid.

Why was she following this massive giant that could squash her with only a pinky and thumb? One: Margherita was her person. The small girl wasn't a fly, she was a faerie. People have their own faeries. They look a lot like you except that they have wings.

And two: this little faerie had to see what her person was up to.

With a few more hours of flying, Margherita finally swooped down and landed somewhere in the Bahamas. The little faerie sighed in relief and landed on a palm not far away from her person. She stretched her aching wings.

"Lemonie just hopes Person won't fly off again." She told herself. The faerie, Lemonie, had just caught up with Margherita as she was flying off again. So Lemonie never got a break.

"Come on Person! What is she planning!? Person is putting off evil aura again!" Lemonie angrily muttered.

"How shall I destroy most of the world?" Margherita asked aloud as she lay down on the soft, sandy beach.

Lemonie sweatdropped. "Lemonie didn't mean she wanted a straight answer. Person isn't being very smart, answering Lemonie aloud in a place like this!"

Lemonie looked around. Nobody was to be in sight. "Yeah, forget what Lemonie just said."

Lemonie began to grow bored as Margherita pondered the question in silence. She would play with the palm leaves or drum a beat on a coconut to pass the time.

Finally, Margherita spoke up. "Perhaps a drink will help me think. I wonder where I can get one."

Lemonie face-palmed. She drug her hand down her face. "Lemonie-hates-waiting!"

After Margherita got a drink, and thought for what Lemonie thought was an eternity, Margherita voiced an idea she liked… after congratulating herself for coming up four good ideas that day.

"Why didn't I think of it before?! The seven gem pyramids back at the palace! They will give me all the power I need! The only thing standing in my way of getting them is that wretched sea water! But I can clear that easily."

Lemonie gaped, gasped, and nearly fell out of the palm she had been resting in for the past three hours.

A faerie will usually help their person, but Lemonie decided better of it. Getting the seven gem pyramids and using them for selfish reasons could get Margherita killed!

And, even, perhaps, the world!

"Oh no!" Lemonie didn't want her person to die. Faeries are attached to their people like a dog to its owner. If their person dies, they'll live on, but most commit suicide out of depression.

"Oh no." Lemonie muttered. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no!" she flew off back to the place where Atlantis was submered.


	17. Six Jewel Pyramids

**Bakura: So Ryou, how did you like playing doctor this weekened?**

**Me: Shut up 'Kura! Ry's a great doctor! i got better in a flash!**

**Ryou: *blushes* thanks.**

**Me: Welcome! *to you-the readers* i had strep throat all this weekened- actually starting on thursday- and Ryou took care of me. **

**being sick is probably why i couldnt finish the chapter earlier... and the fact the computer kinda broke on... sunday? i think... so i didnt get to play/write on it until it got fixed which was today... it was agony!**

**well... ENJOY!!!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 17**_

_**Six Jewel Pyramids **_

Lemonie floated not an inch over the dark, blue-green surface of the Mid-Atlantic. Far below her lay the lost city of Atlantis.

The small, violet haired faerie had planned to get the pyramids before her person, Margherita. But she wasn't doing that at the moment.

What she _was _doing was scratching the back of her head in confusion.

"Lemonie doesn't know how to get them if they're all the way down there." She muttered. The only thing she could do is swim down there. But many flaws were in that plan. All leading up to drowning.

The Pixie finally took a deep breath and dove in. Somehow, she was able to swim down into the palace without needing to swim back up to take a breath.

She glided just above the stone steps in the salty water and arrived at the door.

Uh-oh.

How was little Lemonie supposed to open that big, heavy door? Especially under water?

She put her hands on the door and began to push. She tried to open the door many times this way with no avail.

The faerie was starting to get an ache in her chest. Faeries need to breathe too, you know.

She opened her mouth for one second and a huge bubble of air came out.

_Lemonie thinks there's no light at the end of this tunnel._

What she didn't see is that the bubble hit the top of the tone door and a small piece of rock loosened.

Lemonie leaned against the door. The next thing she knew was that she was lying face down on a hard, marble floor and that the door was closing itself behind her.

She raised herself up on her palms and turned to face the door.

"Now why didn't any water come in?" Lemonie's question echoed throughout the empty citadel.

As an answer she began to feel a magical presence (as all faeries and other magical creatures do) in the castle. Heck, it was the castle!

She closed her eyes to decipher the feeling. To see what it exactly was.

"Force field. Lemonie likes choice!" she muttered.

Alright. Now she had to do what came to do. Find the Seven Gem Pyramids.

But where were they hiding?

Lemonie sweatdropped. "Lemonie should've probably thought her plan through."

_Lemonie will just have to search the whole castle_, she thought. She examined her surroundings. There were three huge staircases leading up and beyond. One to her left, one to her right, and one in front of her. (She had turned away from the gigantic door at this time.)

There were also large doors leading off in various directions where staircases didn't stand.

This might take a while.

Lemonie chose the middle staircase- the one in front of her- and flew in that direction.

* * *

At the top of the stairway, stood a large door. The Atlantians liked big doors, Lemonie decided.

But in the middle of said door, was a great, crystal decoration. It only stuck out two inches from the door, and it was in the shape of a crown. It was a light tint of blue.

Give you three guesses on which room the door lead to…

Have you guessed yet??

Did you guess the Atlantian Throne Room???

If you did you're right. You get a cookie!

**(A/N: Oops… sorry… out of cookies!!!)**

Lemonie pushed on the blue crown and the door swung open. _Lemonie must be stronger than she thought._

Lemonie entered the room to find beautiful blue tapestries hanging on the walls, two golden thrones decorated with blue orbs, plants of every known and unknown variety sitting in full bloom in pots either on the shining white floor or hanging in the sweet smelling air, and so much more! So much the little faerie's head nearly exploded trying to take it all in!

Lemonie hovered up and over to an empty torch holder and sat on it to get a better look at the room. She leaned her shoulder against the unlit torch that was in said torch holder. To her surprise, it fell out of the torch holder's clutch to the ground.

One on the golden thrones began to inch forward. After a few minutes, it stopped to reveal a secret passageway behind it in the floor.

"Oooh… interesting." Lemonie flew down into the hole and followed the passageway to wherever it lead.

Flying through a large keyhole-large for a keyhole that is- of a big wooden door, the faerie came to a bare room. It was bare… except for seven pedestals in heptagram star formation. Each one should have had a small jewel pyramid standing on it.

Lemonie went over all she knew about the Seven Gem Pyramids in her head. She needed to remember a few things.

The Seven Gem Pyramids were the source of nearly all power in Atlantis. The pyramids were once kept above the surface, but the immense power got too strong and had taken many lives over a period of years. They seemed to be living dictators until the leaders of the unfortunate city hid them inn a power safe room under the castle.

These items-if you wish- had the supremacy to give massive power to the one that puts them together and chants its spell. But, like other ways of gaining power, it had a condition. Each pyramid required two souls to power it.

The pyramids could also be used in séances, if the bearer wished to not use their full power. This ritual required no spell or soul sacrifices. Just a usual séance ceremony. But not all pyramids are needed to perform a séance. But all is recommended.

I sound like a commercial now… don't I??

That's nice.

The last thing about the seven pyramids is that together they form the rainbow. There is a red pyramid, an orange pyramid, a yellow pyramid, a green pyramid, a blue pyramid, an indigo pyramid, and a violet pyramid.

I am tired of writing the word: _pyramid_.

Lemonie checked off each pyramid. But there was one problem.

"Ah! Where is the red pyramid!?" Lemonie yelped. There was supposed to be seven. Why were there six!?

Lemonie heard a voice coming from outside the door. It was Margherita!

"Huh. I don't remember the passage to the Seven Gem Pyramids being open before I was sealed in that accursed pendant."

"Oh no!" Lemonie cried. She hoped Margherita didn't hear.

Lemonie flew around the room frantically. The only exit was through the door Margherita was about to come through.

There was only one solution. She would have to use magic to escape.

Lemonie cursed herself for this. She didn't do spells. She had a hard time with them.

You know those kids who can get a 100% on a written test, but if they use those skills physically, they fail?

Yeah… that's Lemonie.

Said Lemonie gulped and prayed for the best. She cast a spell that tied all six pyramids together magically and another one to make a hasty escape.

* * *

Margherita opened the door with a kick. She waltzed into the room to find all seven pyramids gone.

"There is no way! They should be there! Someone must have recently taken them! I WILL find out who! And I WILL have those items!" she screamed.

* * *

Lemonie appeared above a city. She hung in the air gasping for breath. Performing two spells in the same minute is a bit tiring.

The six, clumped-up pyramids suspended in the air beside her.

"Lemonie thanks the Lord for letting her do that right!" she yelled to the sky. She was relieved that she and the pyramids made it out of there safely and unharmed.

"Now, what should Lemonie do with these pyramids?" Lemonie pondered as she looked at the deranged-looking-flower-thing that was the pyramids. "Hiding them all in one place would be very, very stupid of Lemonie. What should she do?"

Lemonie looked down at the city below her. She saw seven people come out of a large shop and were talking happily. Well, except that blond, who looked a little bit desperate.

There was also a brunette girl standing next to the blond girl, a black haired boy, two white haired- boys?- and two tri-colored, spiky haired boys.

The blond had a golden pyramid around her neck.

That gave Lemonie an idea. "Perhaps," she muttered, "perhaps Lemonie should separate the pyramids. And put them under protection of a human."

* * *

**Bakura: Wait a sec! _Boys? _with a question mark!**

**Me: It was Lemonie's perspective and she only saw what she could at over a few hundred feet in the air!**

**Bakura: But with a ? **

**Ryou: Leave her alone 'Kura. like she said, it was from the little faerie's perpective at over a few hundred feet in the air... she didnt mean to insult us.**

**Bakura: o, i see how it is! you're on her side! well, i guess i cant judge you for going to your girlfriend's aid but-**

**Me: HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!**

**Ryou: *meekly and with a slight embarressed blush* y-yeah!**

**Bakura: O really?**

**Me: 'Kura! SHUT UP BEFORE I WRITE YOU _OUT _OF THE STORY!!!**

**Bakura: ... shutting up now.**

**Me: *sighs* what am i going to do with him????**


	18. Two Pyramids Down, Four to Go

**Hello! I'm back! Took me a while, but i'm back! But i'd like to ask you a question: do you think i can get the next chapter done in two weeks? i hope i can because i have to take that stupid mechanical baby home on the 27 for school... I'm dreading it.**

**Bakura: Awwww.... Hotaru becomes a mommy! Who's the daddy? is it Ry?**

**Me: WHAT! NO! *turns to Ryou* Ry... if you dont control your Yami, I'm gonna kill him in the future chapters!**

**Ryou: *blushing embaressedly from Baku's comment and from slight anger* Now, Taru, i think thats a bit rashional, dont you?**

**Me: So?**

**Ryou: do you want to sink lower than his level?**

**Me: *mutters* guess not...**

**Ryou: So, you're not gonna kill him?**

**Me: i wont kill him....**

**Bakura: Taru? is that a pet name?**

**Me/Ryou: SHUT UP, BAKURA!**

**_ENJOY!_**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 18**_

_**Two Pyramids Down, Four to Go**_

"It would be stupid of Lemonie to give all six pyramids to them… so Lemonie will spread them out. Perhaps she should give two away to them and give the other four to other people. But who?" Lemonie told herself as she followed the seven souls home.

* * *

Strangely enough, Duke decided to come with us to Yugi's house. I was okay with it, but they'd probably talk about something along the lines of me saving the world which I really wanted to _not _do.

I mentally sighed. I felt trapped in a destiny I wished not to have. Apparently, there's no way out of this. I wished there was though. I'll tell you, I was freaking out!!!! I can handle big responsibilities, like being class president-which I wish I was, but saving the world…… I think that's a bit incomprehensible in size… you know what I mean?

Neh.

Wait. What was that? That feeling?

Something… something strange was following us.

I stopped in my tracks and turned around. I scanned the locale around us.

Yugi, Ryou, Aeron, and the rest had went on a few paces without me until Aeron must've realized I stopped and stopped herself.

"Erica?" she said to me. "What's wrong?"

I looked to my left to see if the follower was there. Nothing. The vicinity was clear of any suspicious characters.

I bit my bottom lip and turned back to face my friend. "Nothing. Let's go."

"O-okay." I don't think she believed me.

As we walked on to Yugi's house, I searched the sky. I don't know the exact reason why. I guess I thought that if the feeling I got didn't come from someone on the ground, it was from the sky.

Not unless the freaky feeling came from that bird, it was a false alarm.

Huh. That bird-if bird it be- is a bit small to be a bird. Perhaps it's a bug. But, at that height, if it was a bug, I wouldn't see it. What is it? Is it a bug or bird? Wait. If I said it wasn't either, then what is it? O.k., I just confused myself.

Well, whatever it was, it'd leave sooner or later.

* * *

It has to be later than later because Yugi is opening the door to his grandpa's shop and that bug… bird- whatever!- is still lingering above us.

When the others had walked into the store, I followed suit.

Before I closed the door behind me, though, I looked back up to the sky. That bird-bug-whatever-thing was gone. Completely. Sky: empty.

Strange.

I shook my head and closed the door.

* * *

The blond girl didn't see Lemonie fly in through the door while she wasn't looking and thus Lemonie was able to find a reasonable place to hide.

Lemonie's plan was to listen in on their conversations so she could decide who to give the pyramids.

Lemonie saw the group go backshop, so she stealthily followed them without getting caught. Although, the blond seemed to sense her presence… which worried Lemonie.

The group sat down on a couch, loveseat, and a chair. Four on the couch, two on the loveseat and one in the chair.

Lemonie found a place to hide. She was high enough out of reach for if she was seen and hidden well behind a lampshade- whose light was luckily off. The pyramids, she set carefully behind the chair while the crew wasn't looking.

She listened in.

* * *

I sat on the end of the couch with Aeron sitting next to me. Yugi sat next to her with Atem next to him on the other end. Ryou and Bakura sat on the loveseat. Duke sat on the chair.

Between the chair, where Duke was sitting, and one side of the loveseat, the side Ryou was on, was a lamp. I had a funny feeling about that lamp… I sound dumb, don't I?

Aeron saw me staring at the lamp and sighed. "Erica! You've been acting funny ever since we left Duke's shop! Now, what is wrong? And don't say nothing- I know it isn't nothing!"

"I have a funny feeling about that lamp." I replied not taking my eyes off it.

"The lamp?" Aeron must've thought me crazy. "You have a funny feeing about the lamp?"

"What's wrong with the lamp?" Yugi asked, clearly unfazed by my reaction towards the poor lamp.

"I don't know." I said slowly. "There's just something weird about it."

If a lamp could sweatdrop, this lamp would right now.

"I think there's something behind it." I muttered. There had to be. It wasn't the lamp making me feel this strange feeling, it was something else. Something behind it.

_

* * *

__Uh-oh, _Lemonie thought from her place behind the lamp.

* * *

"Forget the stupid lamp! Why were you acting strange outside?" Aeron said.

I just sat there quiet, staring at the lamp. Something was behind it whether Aeron believed me or not.

Aeron blinked. "Erica? You didn't answer me. Why were you acting strange outside? ... Erica?"

I didn't answer. I could only stare at the lamp.

Without even looking at her, I knew I was making Aeron angry. One part of me didn't care- that part was busy looking at the lamp, and the other part was kind of smug… it was fun to make her livid sometimes. Usually the latter part would win between the battle of the two… this time though, it was the feeling busy with the lamp.

"Somebody get her attention for me!" Aeron demanded. I heard Bakura snigger.

When nobody volunteered to answer her demand, Aeron decided to pick someone out.

"Ryou!"

"Yeah?" He answered to his name.

"Would you get Erica for me?" Aeron asked him.

If my eyes weren't glued to the lamp, I would've blinked. _Asked_? Aeron didn't ask that. She demanded it in the form of a question. She does that a lot back home to Eldred.

"Alright."

_Crap._

Somehow I knew she picked him on purpose. She knows that he'd probably give me that sweet smile of his when telling me that Aeron needs me.

Crapety-crap-crap.

She's evil. Let's put it at that.

I can be stubborn if I want to be… heck! I was doing it then! But she knows what that smile does to me on the TV screen.

Here's what Ryou's smile does to me on the TV screen:

1.) It makes me melt inside.

2.) I will fall for it every time!

GAH!

"Erica?" Ryou addressed me.

I kept my eyes locked on the lamp. I wasn't looking.

"Erica? Can I please have your attention?" Ryou asked, his tone and voice like honey. If I wasn't so determined not to look at him, I'd probably be stuck… all you Ryou fangirls know what I mean.

"Erica?" he tried again.

I had it. If I didn't do something soon…

I squeezed my eyes shut and hid my eyes with my hands. "I'm not lookin'!"

"Wha?" Ryou barely uttered out without laughing. How I knew he almost laughed? One chuckle escaped.

"I'm not lookin'! If I look, you'll give me that smile of yours and I'll do whatever you say! Well, it ain't gonna work this time!" I yelled.

"Dang it!" I heard Aeron half mutter.

I could hear Duke, Yugi, Atem, and Bakura laughing in the darkness that I created with my hands in front of my eyes.

Ryou wasn't laughing. If I was looking, I would've seen Ryou smile and shake his head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I don't have a smile that is used for that purpose."

"Yeah. Intentionally." I told him.

"Huh?" Ryou sounded really confused now. That smile was wiped off his face and replaced with a confused frown.

"Ask all your fangirls at home. Every time you smile, they swoon."

"Erica, I'm sure you're exaggerating…" Ryou reasoned.

"No. I'm not. I've seen it."

"They swoon?" Ryou still didn't believe me.

"I've seen it, Ryou. In, fact, I'm a bit affected by it too."

"Erica-"

I cut Ryou off before he could deny the facts again. "Ryou, if it wasn't true, would I be covering my eyes right now?"

"Well, I suppose not."

"And Ryou?"

"Hm?"

"You're _way _too kawaii for your own good."

"Am I now?" I didn't see it but Ryou blushed slightly like he always does when he's complimented.

"Yup."

"You going to look at me yet?"

"Uh-uh" I shook my head behind my hands.

Hiding your eyes has its disadvantages. For instance, I didn't see Aeron put her hand behind my head and knock my headband off it to the floor.

"Woops." Aeron said "innocently".

"Yeah… woops." I said sarcastically. I knew she did that on purpose also.

I made sure I had me eyes facing the floor as I opened them to reach for my headband. I grabbed it and put it on my head, still facing the floor.

I flipped my hair back as I raised my head, making sure it hit Aeron in the face.

I heard her "bleh".

Whoops as I did so, I looked straight at Ryou for a second.

He was smiling his sweet smile and his chocolate brown eyes were shining.

"Erica? Would you mind paying attention to Aeron?" he asked sweetly, his voice like a chocolate-honey mix.

I blinked a few times. What was that feeling? Oh no! I told you my heart would melt and it did!

"DANG IT! I LOOKED!" I shouted extremely loudly.

The boys that had been laughing finally regained their breath by this time… to only start a laughing fit again.

This time, though, Ryou chuckled.

"What do you want." I turned to Aeron.

"Why were you acting strangely?" she answered.

I was silent for a minute. The boys had stopped laughing at this point to hear what I had to say.

"You didn't believe me when I said there's something behind the lamp. Would you believe I felt we were being followed?" I solicited softly.

"Followed? By who?" Aeron asked. I caught a hint of worry in her words.

"Apparently our enemy is already upon us, if we have a follower." Atem said.

"I didn't see them, but the feeling wasn't… unfriendly. It- it actually seemed familiar… yet strange. It-it seemed to have a feeling- an aura to it that seemed to be filled with power." I said, a tiny bit louder now.

"Still doesn't seem too good. I'd keep that puzzle safe, if I were you. They might be after that." Yugi stated.

I smiled ruefully. My head was bent down; some hair had fallen down around my face and shadowed it.

"You were me once. You had to be stuck dealing with all this also. Neither of us asked for our destinies, yet we got them." I said, slightly louder than my last statement, but not much. "I'm not letting this thing out of my sight anyway. Not going to risk it." I looked up, peered around Aeron, and gave Yugi a knowing smile. "I don't think they'll be after the puzzle, anyway, Yugi, I think they'll be after something else."

Yugi gave me a curious look. "Like what?"

"I'm not exactly sure on the details myself, but I have an idea of what's going to play out." I confessed.

The others stared at me for a moment. The silence was heavy. Everyone was quiet… though I swear I heard something small breathing heavily. That small sound came from the lamp's direction and I wasn't going to go through another one of those episodes.

Duke finally broke the silence. "How do you know-?"

"What's basically going to happen?" I finished. "Last night I had a strange dream that told me some things. I haven't totally deciphered them yet, but I'm working on it."

Duke gave me a smile that said: "told you." I ignored it. I already got it. Not Aeron… me… _why me?!_

Ryou took a quick glance at the clock on the wall. "Oh my! Is it that late already?"

It was 6:00 pm.

"We better get going. Sorry to rush out so suddenly." Ryou said as he grabbed Bakura's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"It's alright." Yugi reassured. The tiny teen looked over at Duke. "Shouldn't you be going too Duke? It's getting late and you need to be there at your shop, right?"

"True." Duke stood up and followed the two Bakurae out the room.

"See ya!" we heard Ryou and Duke call simultaneously from the shop. Then there was the tinkle of a bell and they were gone.

* * *

Lemonie had made her decision on whom to give the pyramids to. She had also decided that the blond, Erica, knew a bit too much… it scared poor little Lemonie to death.

She had decided to give the pyramid to the Yugi boy. He seemed cautious and trustworthy. The white haired Ryou was her second choice. He had a power to get nearly whatever he wanted and powers of convincing. He was perfect.

Thus, with her decision made, she snuck out of her hiding place when no one was looking and made her move.

It had already been 30 minutes since the black haired boy, Duke, and the white haired teenagers left and the four that remained had went to the kitchen to get something to eat. So the coast was clear.

Lemonie chose the blue pyramid and sat it on the couch for the spiky haired Yugi to find. But, so he'll know it was his to protect, she cast a spell on it. She just hoped it was the right one!

After she had somehow found out how to get _out _of the small one's shop, Lemonie had flew as fast as she could to catch up with the powerful Ryou.

Later, at the Bakura household, Lemonie snuck down the chimney a bit like Santa Claus, and flew around the living room. She was looking for a place to set a pyramid for the influential Ryou. Luckily, the one known as Ryou and his-brother?- Bakura were in the kitchen having an argument that was about something along the lines of the proper uses of a spork, so she wasn't seen.

She found a perfect place on the table to put the pyramid and set the purple/violet (whichever you prefer) one there.

Lemonie heard the two coming out of the kitchen and heading there way into the living room, still arguing. The faerie placed the same spell on this pyramid that she did Yugi's and made a furtive escape.

Two down, four to go.

* * *

**Bakura: you like ?'s dont you?**

**Me: stop mumblin'.**

**Bakura: i'm not mumbling!**

**Me: seriously, Bakura, i cant understand you if you're mumbling.**

**Bakura: i said i'm not mumbling.**

**Me: Bakura! Quit mumblin'! i dont understand mumbling!**

**Bakura: BUT I'M NOT MUMBLING!!!!!**

**Me: *chuckles***

**...Long Chapter, huh? i think it just might be my longest one yet!**


	19. Sapphire and Amethyst

**Nothing to bore you with today... so i disclaim and:**

**_ENJOY!!!_**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 19**_

_**Sapphire and Amethyst **_

Yugi picked up the blue pyramid. "Hey, look, it has the eye of Anubis on it." he half muttered.

"Oh… so that's what it's called!" I said.

Yugi turned to me. "What did you think it was called?"

"I thought it was called the Millennium Mark. I really didn't know its name. I just guessed." I replied a little nervously.

Yugi smiled and shook his head. Did he think I was joking?

If so, thank the Lord above, because I don't want to be thought of as stupid.

"It's very interesting." Atem mumbled.

We were standing in the living room once again. We came in to find this blue pyramid (blue-blue, not light blue like the Pyramid of Light) sitting in here waiting for us.

Next to me, Aeron's eyes widened in realization and shock.

"That looks like _my _pyramid… the one I got for Christmas!" she murmured/yelled (somewhere in between).

"_Your_ pyramid?" Yugi looked at Aeron in confusion. "You mean you have one like this?"

"Yeah." My brunette friend opened up a side of her jacket and pulled out her small, red pyramid from her inside pocket.

"How long have you had that there?" Atem asked, pointing to the pyramid.

"Since yesterday when I went over to Erica's house." She answered.

Yugi was right in front of Aeron and inspecting the crystal in a second. "Where'd you get it?"

"I got it for Christmas from Ol' Saint Nick."

I was shocked, surprised, amazed, and any other emotion that falls under those lines that you could think of. _Aeron _believed she got that from _Santa_??? I thought she was an unbeliever!

"So you do believe in Santa!" I exclaimed.

"Erica! Not important!" she snapped.

"… No need to snap… I was excited is all…" I pouted.

Yugi held Aeron's pyramid for a second before giving it to Atem to examine.

"Aeron," Atem questioned, "do you know why you got this?"

"No clue. Why?" she inquired.

"If you did-" he began.

"It might've given us a clue as to why there is one here for one of us." Yugi finished.

Atem glowered at his Hikari. Yugi replied with a smirk.

At that very second, the ex-pharaoh yelped and dropped the blue pyramid. Yugi caught it just in time.

"Yugi, I think it bit me!" he cried.

"Bit you-?" said Yugi began in puzzlement. "How can a pyramid bite?" Yugi speculated. He looked down to see his Yami crouched down slightly and squeezing his hands together. Both looked quite red.

"How can a pyramid scorch your hands like that by just holding it?" he softly wondered aloud. Yugi held the culprit in his hands and it felt positively cool. No where near as warm as it needed to be to singe a pair of hands.

With shock in her face, Aeron laid a hand on the once Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle's shoulder to get his attention.

Atem looked up in slight surprise.

"You need to get some cool water running on those." She motioned to Atem's hands. "It'll help."

Atem hesitated before he agreed and let Aeron take him to the kitchen.

Yugi and I watched the two go. Once they had left the room, I said to the spiky haired teen something he probably didn't have to know, but I felt compelled to say anyway.

"Aeron has a crazy home life. Her father usually sits in jail for most of his time and she lives with her aunt. Her aunt can't really cook and isn't the best at being a nurse. Aeron has to cook for herself and burns herself usually while using the oven.

"She even gets into way to many fights back where we come from. She's a total tomboy who has the fighting skills to match, but that doesn't mean she comes home without her share of injuries. With all the things she goes through, I'm amazed she isn't qualified to perform surgery yet!" I laughed a little at that last part. It was all true. Many a time she had gotten into a fight to protect me. Times I am grateful for her being there and times that make me disappointed in myself for not being able to fend for myself.

I looked at Yugi before adding, "She is an excellent cook and nurse."

Yugi looked at me for a minute. He gave me a smile that showed his understanding. I guessed it was the same with him and Joey. The show illustrated his and Joey's relationship being close to the same way.

A moment later, my best friend and _Mou Hitori no Yugi _walked back into the room. Aeron came and stood beside me. Atem wasn't really watching where he was going (he was busy testing his hand by stretching out his fingers and curling them back up again) and ran into the couch arm. The impact made him lean over the couch arm sharply and unwillingly and land face first into the couch cushion.

"Why do these things happen to me?" he asked to no one in particular, his voice muffled by the couch cushion.

We, other than the clumsy king, laughed.

An idea sparked in my blond head. I took out my cell phone and pressed the button to pull up the camera app. before Atem could get up and took a picture of the sight.

"What did you do that for?" a panting Yugi asked. He apparently saw me take a picture of Atem- who was getting out of that uncomfortable position at that moment.

"I'm going to give this photo to Bakura." I replied confidently.

"What?! Give what to the thief?!" Atem asked in worried surprise.

"This." I showed him the picture I took.

"WHAT?!" I admit… I was even surprise at the reaction I got from the previous pharaoh. "You are not giving him that!" Atem made a grab for the phone but I moved it out of his reach.

"Maybe _give _was the wrong word." I corrected. "I mean _sell_."

"Sell?" the twin duelists asked me.

"Yeah. If he can make a good offer, I'll sell it to him."

"Why?" Yugi posed.

"If we're going to be here for a while," I looked at Aeron, who gave me an evil grin that told me she knew where I was going with this, "we're going to need some money of our own. We can't just keep mooching off you and the others for the whole time we're here."

"We don't mind you 'mooching' off us if you need to." Yugi said.

Aeron countered, "Yeah, but we do. Besides, we might get a _huge_ offer from Bakura. Considering it's him we're trying to sell this to."

Yugi made a face that showed that he reluctantly agreed that this was a good idea. Atem just pouted.

"Don't I have to give you permission to-?" Atem tried to foil our evil plan but Yugi cut him off.

"Atem, give them permission." He demanded in slight monotone.

"Why?" Atem was taken aback.

"Because, it is a good idea and they really don't want to be cadging off us the whole time they're here- even though I don't mind. Moreover, how else are they going to get money?"

"They could get a job." Atem suggested. Yugi disagreed.

"Do you forget that they are on a mission to save the world and they practically exist here!?"

"Fine. You have my permission."

Aeron smiled a smile and said "Thank you, Atem!"

At the exact same time I said, "Arigatou, Atem!" (What? I like Japanese, okay!)

After a moment of silence, Atem turned to Yugi. "By the way," Atem said, "why is it that you can hold the pyramid without getting overcooked and I can't?"

"I don't know." Yugi replied after a moment's hesitation.

* * *

Ryou picked up the purple pyramid. The white haired teen scrutinized the solid closely.

"Hey, look what's on the front!" Ryou showed his Yami a golden, eye-shaped symbol on one of the pyramid's faces.

"Yeah, the Eye of Anubis. How do you know that's the front though? It's a pyramid. Any face can be the front." Bakura complained.

"Details! You'll find anything to complain about, wont you? I know it's the front because usually a symbol on a face of a solid violet pyramid means that it's the front." Ryou replied.

"Yeah. Usually."

"Oh, shut-up. You're just mad because I won't let you use a spork to-"

Bakura cut his Hikari off. "What is that thing doing here anyway?"

"Bugger if I know." The innocent Brit sat down on the couch in his living room- which the two were now in.

Bakura walked over to his snow haired light and snatched the purple pyramid from Ryou's hands. "Lemme see that."

But before he could get a good look at the small pyramid, he dropped it.

"YOW!" he shrieked in a girlish tone. He pressed his charred hands together.

Ryou had managed to catch the lilac pyramid before it hit ground. He looked back up at Bakura who was on the verge of sucking on his hands.

"Oh, gosh!" Ryou stood up and grabbed the Yami's shoulders to lead him into the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Ryou made Bakura stick his hands under the faucet and Ryou turned on the cold water. The cold water on Bakura's burnt hands produced a sizzling steam which freaked out both Yami and Hikari.

After a few minutes, and after the burning sensation in Bakura's hands died down, Ryou and _Mou Hitori no Ryou_ exited the kitchen and ambled back to the couch.

Ryou had set the lavender pyramid on the living room table before leading Bakura to the kitchen. So now, when they came back to the family room, Ryou picked it back up again- for no real apparent reason.

Bakura saw his lighter half pick up the pyramid and hold it… without any problems.

"How are you able to hold that _thing_ and not get scalded?" he asked.

Ryou looked up from the pyramid to the thief, who had sat himself down on the divan at this point.

"Why are you asking me?" Ryou retorted. _How the bloody 'ell should I know?_

* * *

The two groups of teens wanted to know what the pyramids were and why they had them… but what else they didn't know was that a little faerie was flying and working her butt off delivering the rest of the colored pyramids.


	20. Night Flying

**Gotten off of 2000-names. com **

**Interesting facts:**

**_Nyx: _is a greek name meaning _n__ight_; in mythology, this is a name of a goddess of night.**

**_Ishtar: _is more than just the surname of our beloved _Marik Ishtar_. it is an Assyrian name said to be Semitic in origin and which may share the same underlying stem as masculine Assur, meaning _the leading one_ or _the chief_. In Babylonian mythology, this is the name of the most prominent female deity. **

_**Xochiquetzal: **_**is a word. it is a Nahuatl myth name of the twin sister of _Xochipilli _meaning _flower feather_.**

**X)**

* * *

_**Chapter 20**_

_**Night Flying**_

The little faerie floated over cities, forests, oceans, seas, and any manmade areas and landforms that survive on this environmentally inept planet.

She had given out two of the four pyramids that were left. She felt the two were given out to the right people. But one can't be so sure.

Lemonie was flying over a town at the moment. She flew beside a flock of black birds. For hours she had been talking to the dark colored birds whose feathers shined from the light of the crescent moon.

Thing with faeries, because of being magical creatures and what not, they can speak the language of any living creature. They are great interpreters.

"… You see, Person was always being bullied when she was young and developed a cold heart. She later was accused of a terrible crime and was forced to live in a tiny pendant as punishment. Person now wants to take revenge and use these pyramids to gain power. Lemonie is trying to keep that from happening." Lemonie explained to the crow next to her.

The crow listened intently. He didn't want to show any disrespect to a magical creature, whose race is considered the highest beings on the earth by all mortal animals, by ignoring her. That could end up nasty. (But, knowing Lemonie's personality, she probably wouldn't even notice much).

The she-crow next the said he-crow had been "speaking" to a crow on the other side of her.

The latter had told her something she had to pass on.

"Oi! Blackwing!" she spoke to the crow that was listening to Lemonie.

"Hm?" he answered. "What is it Nightfeather?"

"Fly higher. Gust of wind coming up." Nightfeather said.

Blackwing understood. He turned his beak to Lemonie, who was looking down toward ground, checking out the sight below her. Lights were scattered amongst dark earth. It was a wondrous sight.

"Miss Faerie," he squawked.

"Yes?" Lemonie answered.

"We need to fly higher. There's a gust of wind approaching."

"Gust of wind?" Lemonie was confused. Never once in all her life had she experienced a gust of wind while flying. She had heard of faeries that had, but she never flew far from her person.

Before she could question Blackwing any farther, he flew upward, along with the rest of the birds.

In a no second flat, a huge, strong, powerful squall of wind hit her. She was sent spiraling through the air and plunging towards earth.

* * *

Nightfeather watched as Lemonie was hit by the air stream. She let out a chuckle.

Blackwing heard her and said, "Night, that's uncouth! She's a mystical creature! Do you know what she can do to you?"

"Listen, Black, did she seem like she could turn me into a crab to you? She talked in third person for Nyx sake! So just forget about your little girlfriend and focus on flying!" Nightfeather snapped.

If a crow could smirk (can it? I don't know, so can you tell me? Thanks.), then Blackwing would be at the moment.

"Is that what this is about?" he asked teasingly.

"What! No!" Nightfeather screeched.

"Are you jealous?"

"In your dreams!"

Blackwing tittered at Nightfeather's reaction. "Come on, sister, Ishtar Xochiquetzal is flying faster. We better catch up."

"Blockhead!" Nightfeather muttered as she followed her twin.

* * *

Once Lemonie regained control of her own body and wings, she looked up to see the crows fly off.

She smiled at how gracefully they flew. But that smile soon disappeared when she realized…

She dropped the pyramids!

The pyramids had fallen to the ground below. One had hit someone in the head before hitting ground though. The other fell straight into a gutter.

The person who had been hit in the head was too busy rubbing the humongous knot on her head to realize what had fallen in her bag.


	21. Topaz and Azurite

**I think i know why i rated this story T when i wrote the first chapter! It was for this chapter! For alcohol abuse, violence, and squirrels!**

**Yugi:*whispers to Ryou* she seems to be excited to talk about alcohol abuse and violence...**

**Ryou:*Whispers back* she's just happy to be alive...**

**Yugi: huh?**

**Ryou: she passed out this morning at school because herr blood sugar level dropped suddenly.**

**Yugi: oh! that's terrible!... and how are you the only one to know that?**

**Ryou: *scratches back of head nervously* we talk a lot while waiting for you guys to show up...**

**Me: good message: eat healthily... eat your greens and eat right.... or you might be sent to ER... and beware of squirrels!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 21**_

_**Topaz and Azurite**_

_He was standing in a garden. It was the most beautiful garden he had ever seen._

_He had seen plenty of gardens… all of them pretty… but this one took the prize._

_Pretzel trees grew everywhere; hamburger bushes vegetated the area; candy canes sprouted out from the gram cracker soil; Twizler vines snaked up cheese walls; candy and delicious food made up every single thing in the garden- not including him! _

_THERE WAS EVEN A LARGE, DEEP POND OF CHOCOLATE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL!!!!_

_This made him excited. He ran up to the edge of the pond and looked at it with immense pleasure. He then jumped high up into the air and flipped into a diving position. _

_He would be swimming in a pool of chocolate in 3…2…_

* * *

Joey opened his eyes. His check felt something pressing against it. Something cold… and hard. He found himself half off of the bed, and half on.

His check was pressed against the floor, thus making his head on the floor. One arm squeezed a pillow tight in the crook of said arm; the other was dangling off the bed close to his head. One leg was spread out across the width of the bed with his bare foot hanging off of the opposite side of the side with his dangling arm and head, while his other leg was stretched out in the direction of the footboard with the bare foot hanging off the bed in _that _direction. The sheet was tangled in random directions on him and the thin quilt was not on the bed… he wondered where it was.

The blond situated himself back on the bed in a sitting position.

Then it hit him.

He was dreaming.

"And I was just about to get a face full a' chocolate too!" he muttered angrily as he got himself up for the day.

He opened his bedroom door a crack. He peered through the crevice to see if the coast was clear. The room that lay before him was the living room. It was cluttered with broken, chipped, cracked, or perfectly whole beer bottles. There was a small table in the middle of the room and a broken-down couch sitting not far from it.

And on that couch was his snoring, snoozing, drunken father.

If Joey could be very quite, he could sneak out of the house before his father woke up.

Joey slowly opened the off-white, cracked and battered door. He paused to see if his father had awoken. When assured he didn't, Joey took a step outside the door. He paused once again to check on his father's sleep. When it turned out that his father was in a pretty deep siesta, he took another step.

But, this time, tripped.

Joey fell to the wood floor with a loud _thud_. He squeezed his eyes shut in fear it had woken his drunken father. His drunken, abusive father.

After six long minutes of nothing happening, he opened his eyes and dared a glance at the couch.

His not on the couch any longer. He was standing above him.

Bloodshot eyes stared down at the blond. Brown eyes blinked in fear back up at the furious, intoxicated man.

A hand gripped a bottle tightly; a scowl covered the man's face. The hand with the bottle was raised and, with an incensed roar, Joey's father threw the bottle down at the son's head. Luckily, the bottle wasn't thrown hard enough to knock him out, so as soon as the bottle smashed on his flaxen head, Joey scrambled to his feet and ran toward the door.

Joey dashed out to the street below the apartment. He stopped momentarily to regain his breath. He hadn't even noticed he had been holding his breath before he ran.

He heard a slurred, yell from above him. "AN' TAKE DIS WIT YA, BOY!"

Joey, confused, looked up and… next knew black.

* * *

It had been a good five minutes before Joey came to. He grunted and pulled himself to his feet.

He rubbed the top of his head where the bottle had hit. For some reason it hurt… usually a bottle would hurt him if it hit hard enough, but not this much. Something made it hurt worse.

He looked down to the concrete to see a yellow pyramid lying on its side on the hard, grey street.

"Strange." He muttered. He picked it up and tapped it. The strange pyramid had that Eye of… Obelisk? _No, that's an Egyptian God Card. _He thought. _Is it Osiris? No. Jackal? No, that's that dog-headed thing. Eugene?_

Joey gave up guessing on what the eye stood for. **(A/N: Anubis, Joey, Eye of Anubis.) **He just shook his head and subconsciously stuffed the pyramid in his pocket.

Joey headed straight for the Game Shop.

* * *

Mokuba Kaiba was lounging on the couch in the TV room, as he called it since it only had a rug, a couch, a table, and a TV in the room, flipping channels.

He had woken up early that morning- probably because he had forced himself to wake up because he was having another strange dream about his stepbrother, Noah- and decided to see what was on TV. Now, he had a TV in his bedroom, but if he watched it there, he'd never leave and have to endure another one of his brother's _you-need-to-get-up-and-not-spend-the-whole-day-in-bed_ speeches.

You might think Seto isn't that great of a brother, spending all his free time with the company and letting his baby brother get kidnapped and all, but if you heard one of these speeches, you'd change your mind on that. It is the equivalent to one of Téa's friendship speeches.

Thus, the young Kaiba lay there on the pale green couch watching TV.

Correction: would be watching TV if there WAS ANYTHING GOOD ON!!!

"I think the TV people are broken!" Mokuba muttered exasperatedly to himself. "Why isn't there anything good on?"

He clicked the channel button a few more times. The TV paused on a channel that had a scary movie on. Right now, a poor, unlucky sap was getting his guts torn out of his body through his mouth by a tentacle-ly monster. **(A/N: Erica: I don't think that's physically possible. Me: What?! Now **_**you're **_**following **_**me**_**? This ain't your chapter! Get out!)**

Mokuba's eyes widened at the sight. "EW!" he screeched. He tuned off the TV and threw the remote down.

_My mind has been permanently scarred…_he thought.

Mokuba left the room. He always avoided rooms for a few months after he experienced something that could be described as "Iyeh!" For example, what he had just seen on the TV made him want to avoid the TV room for fear of that happening to him.

He paused in front of the kitchen door. He contemplated getting breakfast, but the image of… _that_… really scared off his appetite. Yup. His hunger left the building, running with its tail between it legs.

Poor appetite.

Mokuba walked on. He chose to head out to the backyard to get some fresh air. Perhaps that would calm him down.

* * *

Once in the outside, he made his way through the garden, rounded the huge Blue-Eyes White Dragon fountain, and strolled to the big Oak tree in the back yard.

He sat underneath the tree at its trunk where the shade was most abundant. The tree was almost as tall as the Kaiba mansion itself. Almost. In a few more years, it'd probably equal it.

Mokuba closed his eyes. He sighed when a cool breeze brushed his face and bare legs. All the younger Kaiba was wearing was a huge, white T-shirt and blue short-shorts that he always wears to bed. (He didn't change that morning. He felt rather lazy that day.)

Minutes passed until an extremely strong wind blew. _Whoa! _Mokuba thought as his hair was blown to his right. The branches in the tree swayed threateningly. Then, something small and hard landed none too soft in his lap.

When the wind died down, Mokuba blinked and looked to see why there was an unexpected weight in his lap.

It gibbered.

It was a squirrel! Mokuba yelped in shock and scared off the poor thing.

The squirrel squeaked in fear and hopped off the boys lap and scampered up the tree.

If you've ever watched _The Sword in the Stone, _the Disney version, you'd know that squirrels have a lot more personality than we put them out to be.

This squirrel made that statement true.

When the squirrel scurried up the Oak tree, it climbed back into its hollow. It crawled in there and pushed something out of it. That _thing_ landed flat on Mokuba's head.

"YOWCH!" Mokuba yelped and rubbed the spot where the thing landed on his head and slid off.

He looked up to see the squirrel chattering at him furiously shaking its tiny fist.

"Ah, bug off, rodent!" he shouted back. The squirrel made a 'Hmph' sound and scampered back into its hollow.

Muttering to himself about something along the lines of sticking rat poison around the tree, Mokuba continued to rub his head with one hand while leaning on the other.

The fingers of the hand he was leaning on brushed against something smooth. He jerked his hand away in surprise. He saw an indigo pyramid resting beside him on its side. He picked it up and peered at the strange object in slight wonder.

On the indigo surface was a gold symbol. The Eye of Anubis, he knew. His brother had gained an interest in Egypt after Yugi's duel with Yami six months ago and Mokuba learned a lot from reading all the books on Ancient Egypt his brother had been buying. Mokuba didn't really understand why his brother was getting a fetish over Egypt for it was slightly out of his character. He also found it annoying. Seto already had an uncontrollable dragon fetish. Mokuba didn't think his brother needed another kooky obsession.

As the young boy examined the object, a thought struck him. _Might want to show this to Seto._

* * *

"What is it Mokuba?" Kaiba said. He was sitting at his desk in his home office in the Kaiba mansion. Mokuba was standing at the door.

"You need to see something." Mokuba said.

"Does it have anything to do with the duel disk system or the company?" Mokuba's brother inquired, looking at his computer screen.

"…No, but-" Mokuba began slowly.

"Then I don't need to see it." Seto cut him off.

Mokuba paused. How was he going to get his brother to take a short break from work and pay attention to him?

"But, when you see it later on, you'll wish you saw it now." Mokuba said. He wasn't sure if it was true, but, hey, it was something to go by.

Seto Kaiba gave an exasperated sigh and looked up from his work. "What is it?" he asked gruffly.

Mokuba walked up to the side his big brother and presented the pyramid.

Seto blinked. But he wasn't looking at the pyramid. He was looking at his brother. "Mokuba, why haven't you changed out of your bed clothes yet?"

Mokuba's eye twitched. His brother was more interested about his _clothes _than _the strange object in his hands_? "THE PYRAMID, SETO, THE PYRAMID!" he yelled.

"Alright, you don't have to get so loud!" Seto took the indigo pyramid from his brother's hands and gazed at it for a second. "Weird. Where did you get this?" he asked turning to Mokuba.

"A squirrel threw it at me." Mokuba said bluntly. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"…A… squirrel threw it at you. Are you sure it wasn't a chipmunk or something?" Kaiba never joked unless it was with his brother. He just couldn't resist this time.

"SETO! That's not why I wanted to show you this thing! And I know it was a squirrel!" Mokuba was getting annoyed. Seto saw that and decided to get serious before it got ugly. He one time pushed his brother a bit too far and got a fork thrown at him.

"Where did the squirrel throw this at you? Where were you at?" the eldest Kaiba asked.

"Under the Oak tree." Mokuba answered.

"Why was this in a tree?" Seto wondered aloud. "Why would it be in any tree at all?"

"I don't know, but look!" Mokuba pointed to the Eye of Anubis on one face of the 3D figure.

Seto's eyes widened at that. He had a sneaking suspicion…

"Mokuba, get dressed and head over to Yugi's. I'd do it myself but I have a lot of work to do."

"Mm." Mokuba noised and left the room.

He did just that.

* * *

**Mokuba: Cool! i have a chapter!**

**Joey: but ya have ta share it with Kaiba...**

**Mokuba: so... besides, I'm centric!**

**Joey: but ya got beat up by a squirrel...**

**Mokuba: so?**

**Joey:*blinks* you really dont care what happens ta ya as long as ya have a chapter, do ya?**

**Mokuba:*smiles and laughs* nope!**


	22. A Meeting

**Bakura: where are we?**

**Me: not in this chapter**

**Bakura: why not?**

**Me: you're still asleep and Ry's... where is Ry?**

**Ryou: right here, i was at Blockbuster and i saw the _Lightning Thief _on the new release isle and thought we could watch it.**

**Me: Yay!**

**Bakura: Ok, weird. the authoress would tell you this herself, but, since she's so busy flirting with Ry (gonna get killed for saying that later), i'll say it. she wants you, the readers, to immediatly tell her if she spelled any of the lyrics wrong in _Kawaita Sekebi_ in the story for she got the lyrics off Youtube and isnt sure she can trust the video she watched for the right lyrics. she really wants that to be right. now... where can i find some popcorn...**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 22**_

**_A Meeting_**

Margherita sat atop another skyscraper. But this one wasn't in New York. This one was in Vegas baby!

Anyway, the witch sat atop a skyscraper in Las Vegas in the cool January air. She had been contemplating on what to do. The Seven Jewel Pyramids were missing. How was she to get them?

Margherita knew she couldn't just try and find them herself. She knew that she had anger problems. How could she trust herself walking among these abrading mortals without killing one on the street?

No. She needed help. She needed mortal minions.

But who?

* * *

"_Kono mama mou sukoshi- Arukou kata o taki- Kieyuku yume o kazoe- Kareteku nakama o mita- Kayoi nareta michi ni- mayoi komu kono goro- Yami ga mou hitori no- jibun o tsukuru- __Kawaita sekebi ga- Kujike souna mune o tsukisasu- Kimi o sasotte sekai o mitai na- __**Come along with me**__- Dare ni mo- dasenai- Kotae ga boku no naka ni aru- Kake hiki ga kagi- todoke- __**Fly at higher game**__!…_"

That's right. I was singing "Kawaita Sekebi", the **Yu-Gi-Oh! Season Zero **theme song.

Hey, can you blame me? I was lying on the couch in Yugi's house, waiting for Aeron, Yugi, or Atem to wake up.

I was singing this song softly. So I wouldn't wake anyone up. I know I just said I wanted them to wake up, but I don't want to be rude.

Luckily, it wasn't long before my prayers were answered.

I heard a clatter of a pan fall to the floor in the direction of the kitchen. I glanced over at Aeron. _Now why didn't t she wake up?_

I stood up and poked my head out the door. Nobody was there so I made my way to the kitchen.

Once at the open kitchen door I stuck my cranium in the entrance and stared with a slightly curious expression at the sight before me.

Yugi stood in a flinching position with his eyes squeezed shut standing over a metallic pan that was laying face down on the floor.

… He didn't even look like he was breathing…

This began to worry me.

"Yugi. You're turning purple!" I said.

He opened his eyes and took a huge intake of breath.

He let it out in a sigh.

Then he saw me.

"Oh, sorry, Erica, did I wake you up?" he asked.

"No." I said, stepping in the doorway. "I've been up for a while anyway. I just came to see what all the ruckus was."

"Oh, that's good. Did I wake Aeron up?" Yugi asked smiling in relief and putting a hand behind his head.

"Her? Nah. She sleeps like a _rock._" I explained with a little laugh. "So, what'cha doin'?"

Yugi picked up the fallen frying pan and held it up for emphasis. "Cooking. Want something?"

"Sure! What're you cooking?"

"Don't know yet. But I'll have to cook some eggs for when Atem wakes up."

"Yeah. Well, how 'bout we look for something in the cookbooks for something interesting."

"You're going to help?"

"I'm already awake, aren't I? Besides, I like to help cook. I don't know really why, but it's kinda interesting."

Hence, well, you can guess what happened next. Cooking. Something exotic from a cookbook. Luckily we had all the ingredients needed.

I really think that if I gave you every single little detail, you'd get bored. So, I'll tell you just a few instances I found exciting.

* * *

"Yugi! I really don't think that's safe!"

"Safe? It's _flour_! What's dangerous about-?"

"Ack! Yugi!"

"Haha. You look like a ghost."

"So do you, you little-!"

"We might want to get washed off."

"So turn on the sink…"

"Alright."

* * *

"Erica, how much milk do we need?"

"Two cups."

"Ok. Could you go get one of those measure-thingies from the cabinet next to the sink?"

"_Measure-thingies_? Don't you mean measuring cups?"

"Yeah. Measuring cups. That's what I said, wasn't it?"

"No. You said measure-thingies."

"…"

* * *

"Yugi, what fell on my head?"

"Nothing! Your imagination!"

"Then why is my hair sticky?"

"It was an accident?"

"Yugi…"

"What!? It was!"

"Washcloth. _Now_!"

"You're mad, aren't you?"

"_No_. I'm giving you a death glare because I'm HAPPY!!!"

"You are mad!"

* * *

"Is it done yet?"

"No."

"… Is it done yet?"

"_No._"

"…… Is it done yet?"

"DANGIT, YUGI, I SAID NO!!!"

"AH! EVIL ERICA!"

"…"

* * *

Taking the tray out of the oven, we looked at our completed project.

It looked lopsided… and very strange, but it was pretty good for our first try.

Perhaps that why foreigners never make French food in their home.

Thankfully, there was enough for ten people by the way we made it because we heard Grandpa Motto and Atem coming down the stairs.

I sat the tray on the counter just as the said two opened the kitchen door and came in the room.

"What's going on here?" Atem asked, rubbing one eye while the other one was still closed with tiredness.

"Yes, what's with all the racket?" Grandpa added. "I wasn't able to take my medicine because of it all."

"Yeah, sure, Grandpa. Just remember to take it at the longest _after breakfast._" Yugi said.

"And speaking of breakfast, that's what all the noise was about. We made breakfast." I said happily, motioning to the tray to my right.

"Wow. You two made this?" Atem said, gawking at the food. Grandpa was smiling in pride.

"Of course they made it, look at them." said Grandpa M.

Yugi and I looked at ourselves in some of the kitchenware that hung on hooks. In the shining surfaces of the pots and pans, we saw what were supposed to be our reflections. There were smudges of flour on our faces, our hair was disheveled (don't know how Yugi's got that way), the aprons around our waists were all messy, now the Kuriboh on my top was tinted red, and various other ingredients were covering our bodies.

. . .

Now when'd that happen?

I laughed nervously and Yugi blushed, saying: "Yeah."

"Well, enough chit-chat. Let's eat breakfast so Grandpa can take his medicine." Urged Atem, still gawking wondrously at the foodstuff. Grandpa sweatdropped.

"Alright." Yugi agreed.

"I'll wake up Aeron." I said, leaving the room and heading toward to the living room.

* * *

"Aeron? Aeron?" I prodded the sleeping Aeron with my finger. We were at the table now and eating breakfast. Aeron had fallen asleep in her food.

Yugi, Atem, and Grandpa watch me trying ting to wake her up. The first two did all they could to keep from laughing while the latter just smiled.

"Aeron wake up!" I yelled. Didn't work.

At that second the doorbell rang. Yugi excused himself from the table to answer it.

A moment later we heard Yugi exclaim. "Oh, hey, Joey!"

Aeron's head snapped up and she looked fully awake. She began to eat the squished food on the plate in front of her.

Atem couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing. And, I must admit, I did too.

"It's nice to see you." Yugi finished, coming into the kitchen with Joey in tow.

"Thought I'd come by. I smell food." Joey said heading straight for table. Aeron blushed. I suppressed another giggle.

"What's this?" Joey frowned at the food.

"Some French food I can't pronounce." I said swallowing the chewed up food that was in my mouth.

"Is it good?"

"Very."

Joey picked up a piece and ate it. His eyes grew wide. "THIS IS GOOD!"

I grabbed some more and put it on my plate, as did Atem, Grandpa, and Yugi (once he sat back down). I presume they did that for the same reason I had. I didn't want Joey eating the last of it greedily.

That left none left.

"Hey!" Joey whined. "I haven't had breakfast yet! And I thought we were friends!"

Aeron picked up her plate, which still had a lot of food on it, and handed it to Joey.

"Here," she said shyly, "you can have the rest of mine. I wasn't really hungry anyway." Aeron had a faint pink blush on her face.

I smacked my hand to my head.

"Thanks, Aeron! Now she's my friend." Joey said, digging into the cuisine.

"I know another reason why she did that." I muttered. Aeron still heard me and aimed a smack at my head. I ducked just in time and stuck my tongue out at her. She glared at me in return.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. Aeron just sat there and occasionally glanced Joey's way. _Seriously_! Could she be any more _love struck_?!

Joey finally broke the silence. "Say, Yoog, do you know anything about small, stone pyramids?"

Everyone, other than Grandpa, who didn't really know what he was talking about thus ignored the question, and Aeron, who wasn't eating yet still had the same reaction, stopped eating and our eyes widened.

"Stone pyramids? Like _stone_ or-" Yugi began.

"Stone, you know like expensive ones. Like diamond, ruby, opal… topaz." Joey muttered the word topaz.

"Um…" Yugi was at a loss. He didn't know what to say. He friend's question was a bit blunt.

Joey looked at his small friend for a moment and noticed his hesitation. He apparently decided to go on. "Ya see," Joey pulled out a small, topaz pyramid, "I tripped on this on the way out of my house… and my dad dropped it on my head when I was out of the house. I didn't know what it was and thought you might know."

We were quiet for a moment. _Joey had one too?_

Yugi finally spoke up, even though it was only one word. "Well," Yugi left the room and ran up the stairs. We heard a door shut, open, and shut again before Yugi came bounding down the stairs.

"Does this answer your question?" Yugi held out his blue pyramid to Joey.

Joey looked like fish. Opening and closing his mouth without making a sound. All that was missing were bubbles coming from his mouth.

"I thought you might _know_ about it! Not _have_ one!" he exclaimed.

I nudged Aeron. Since she had one too, she might as well show it to Joey.

She looked at me for a second with a confused expression on her face before she realized what I was silently trying to tell her. She pulled the ruby pyramid out of her inside pocket (_how does that not hurt when she sleeps on it?_) and held it in her hands.

"Uhm, Joey? I… have one too." She said somewhat quietly.

Joey looked at Aeron's pyramid and gawped. "Does everyone have one?"

"Nor I or Atem have one." I stated.

"Yeah, but dat's three against two!" we looked over at Grandpa and Joey quickly added, "He doesn't count! Next we'll see Kaiba walking in here with one!"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang again.

Yugi sighed. "How many visitors are we to get today!?" even though he complained, Yugi got up from his seat once again and went to go get to the door. "How 'bout we finish this conversation in the living room?" he called back to us. "There's more room in there."

We did as was suggested; Joey took his plate with him.

* * *

We were surprised to see a small, haired boy following Yugi into the living room. _Was that Mokuba Kaiba?_

Yugi sat down on the couch, motioning Mokuba to do the same. But Mokuba just stood there. He was staring at me and Aeron with a curious look.

"Yugi, who's your friends?" he wondered, clearly meaning us.

"Huh? Oh! That's Aeron and Erica." He introduced. Aeron nodded when Yugi said her name and I waved at mine to make it easier for Mokuba to distinguish between us, even though we looked nothing alike. But he never saw us before.

"Erica, Aeron, this is Mokuba, as you know from the show." He said to us.

"What? Show? Yugi, what're talking about?" Mokuba looked extremely confused.

"Well, it's a long story." Yugi said.

"I have all day."

"Well, ok." Yugi tried to explain our story as simply as he could. Like us, and a certain authoress I happen to know, he was getting tired of explaining everything that was going on.

Mokuba listened intently and with awe. Apparently, he wasn't expecting this. Then he realized Atem was in the room and asked about that. Thankfully, that explanation was shorter.

"And if your brother asks, you tell him… I'm not explaining it again." Yugi added at the end.

"Wow." Was all Mokuba could say.

"So, whaddya here for, Mokuba?" Joey asked, eating the last bit of his food.

"This." He said simply, bringing out an indigo pyramid that was just like Yugi's, Aeron's, and Joey's.

"I was right!" Joey exclaimed.

"You said 'Kaiba'." Yugi responded.

"Mokuba's a Kaiba." Joey retorted.

"Yeah, but when you say _Kaiba_, you mean Seto." Mokuba said.

"Whatever." Joey murmured.

"So is it yours Mokuba?" I asked.

Mokuba blinked at me for a second. "You talk?"

"Yes… I… talk…" I answered, unsure of how to answer, actually, I was.

"Oh," Mokuba bowed his head in embarrassment, "you just haven't said anything yet, so I thought…"

"It's ok."

"But to answer your question, I don't know."

"So did your brother have it first? Or did you find it?" Atem asked.

"Well, um, a, uh, squirrel… had it… in its hollow and… dropped it on my head." Mokuba muttered-stuttered.

Joey burst out laughing. "You got beat up by a _squirrel_?! How can you get beat up by a squirrel!?"

"Least I don't dream I'm wearing a dog suit!" Mokuba shot back angrily.

Joey stopped laughing and paused. "Touché." He said at last.

I sighed. We obviously weren't going to get any answers this way.

When you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

"Mokuba?" I said. His attention snapped to me and off of Joey, thank goodness. "Mokuba, so you're not sure that the pyramid was left for your brother?"

"Well, I… it might. I don't know." He concluded.

"Was he able to hold it? Without getting 'bitten', I mean?"

"Bitten?"

"Burned."

"Oh… yeah, didn't hurt him at all."

I thought for a moment. "I think it's safe to say that both Kaibas own it." I told the others. "I guess to whomever or whatever was giving us these, it didn't matter to them/it whoever had it."

Aeron finally spoke up. "How'd you figure that?"

"From all our knowledge about this world and the characters and the facts about what going on now that we know, you ask me _that_?" I retorted.

Aeron was silent.

I turned around in my seat to see the clock. It was nearing 11:30am.

Mokuba must've did the same and piped up. "Oh, it's close to noon! I better get back to Seto and tell him all this." He got up from his seat and headed for the door. "He probably won't believe me though. So don't be surprised if you get a phone call to come over to the company or something later today."

"See ya!" Joey said licking his plate.

"Bye!" Atem, Yugi, and Aeron said together. They looked at each other in surprise at how sync they were.

"Bye!" I called after the leaving Mokuba. "See you sometime, Mokie!"

Aeron looked at me with a 'You-just-couldn't-resist' look.

I gave Aeron a 'Yup-that's-right' smile.


	23. A Lot in One Day

****

Ok. i know that I'm spelling Yugi's last name wrong, but i had spelled it like _Motto _since when he first came in, so i'm keeping it that way. No body's complained but i just wanted to say that. it has been nagging at me for days now.

Now, i am goint to hide because Bakura looks like he's about to read this and i dont want to die... ENJOY!

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 23**_

_**A Lot in One Day**_

"Bye," he heard Erica call after him, "See ya sometime, Mokie!"

Mokuba left Yugi's shop with a slight blush on his face. It had been a long time since he was called 'Mokie'. The only person who actually ever called him that was Seto when they were kids too.

But knowing that information didn't explain why it was different now, when the blond had called him that.

He pushed the strange feeling aside; he had other things he needed to do.

* * *

Ryou came down the stairs that morning to find Bakura asleep on the couch with his old _The Tigger Movie_ in the ready-to-die VCR, squeezing a Winnie the Pooh plushie that Ryou's little sister, Amane, used to have when she was little (she had given it to him before… yeah).

_This is getting out of hand. _Ryou thought, shaking his head at the sleeping human Furby.

Ryou had decided to call in help. But the only person who he felt could possibly understand his predicament (and would be up by now and at home) was Yugi. Well, even if Yugi couldn't figure it out, it was worth a shot.

He picked up the phone, but, before he could dial the number, it rang.

He checked the caller ID. _Yugi Motto. _Ryou blinked. "It's scary how he does that."

He pressed the button that let him answer the phone and was ready to say 'hello', but he heard way to much noise in the background to say the word.

"_Give me that!" _he heard a voice that, apparently, belonged to Atem, even though he sounded a bit… Ryou couldn't think of the word.

"_No! You gave us permission!" _Was that Erica?

"_Well, I changed my mind!" _

"_You're not allowed to do that!" _that was definitely Aeron.

He also heard random yells and clattering sounds. Ryou sweatdropped.

He then heard a door slam and silence.

"_Hello?" _he heard a voice from the phone. It was Yugi's.

"Hi." Ryou answered.

"_Great! You picked up! Can I ask a question?"_

"You just did. But you can ask another. Shoot."

"_Could you come over in about… oh… 15 minutes? There's some important things we need to discuss."_

"Sure. But, can I ask a question?"

"_Sure, what?"_

"What is it that Atem gave the girls permission to do that he wanted to change his mind about?"

"_Oh, you heard that? Yeah… you'll see when you get here."_

"Alright. See you in a little while."

"_See ya!" _

Ryou hung up the phone. You might've realized that he didn't ask why Yugi wanted him over or why he didn't question the boy further. The reasons were this: Why ask now when you can find out later? And, like I said before, he really needed to talk to Yugi about Bakura's Disney habit.

Ryou then realized something. It might take a whole fifteen minutes to wake Bakura up.

* * *

Aeron and I were playing _Go Fish_ with Joey. So far, he was losing _bad_. Aeron had four books- if that's what they're called- and I had five. How I got five, I'll never know.

Joey had one. We told him the game might turn around and he might win, but he just looked at our piles and shook his head. "If I won, it'd be too obvious that you two cheated." He had said.

Well, he had a point.

"Have any Twos?" Aeron asked Joey.

"Nope. Go fish." He answered.

Aeron drew a card from the extremely small pile. This made four cards in her hand. She apparently didn't get a two, if you went by the look of disappointment on her face.

I actually had two Twos and an Ace. If she had asked me, she probably would've gotten another book. _I wonder what the other two cards in her hand are._

Joey, the poor puppy, had only two cards in his hands. He claimed they were both Nines.

Since, if you add up the total amount of our cards, we had nine cards in play, there were three in the deck. Or what was left of it.

My turn. "Aeron, do you have any Twos?" I asked her, biting my lip to keep a laugh from escaping. You should've seen the look on her face!

She grudgingly and bitterly handed me the two cards. I picked up the two in my hand, once I had the two Aeron gave me in hand, and laid all four down on the floor with my other books.

Aeron's eyes grew wide with surprise and anger- which I think might've been directed at herself, I don't know. Joey was just surprised.

My turn, again. I sat there though. Aeron didn't have any Aces… did she? And Joey claimed to have two Nines. Did it really matter who I asked?

Yugi walked in the room from making a call and also selling a game to an early-bird customer.

He stopped behind Joey and took a look at his cards. He then sat down in between me and said Joey.

"Ask Joey for Aces. He has an Ace." He whispered in my ear.

Wait. Was the King of Games _cheating_? I looked at him with a confused look. He just gave me a smile. _What does that mean? _

"Joey, do you have any Aces?" I asked.

His face went blank. He had been looking at his two cards and hadn't noticed Yugi whispering to me. Or Yugi sitting down next to us.

He must've wondered how I knew he had an Ace.

He reluctantly handed me the card and Aeron gave him a _Liar-you-said-you-only-had-nines!- _look.

I took the card happily. Two more Aces and I'll have another book.

My turn, for a third time… "Um, Aeron, Aces?" I asked her. She was the only one left to ask. And there was a possibility of her having an Ace.

She gave me a glare which instantly told me she had one. She gave me the two she had in her hand. Gleefully, I took the two and made a book.

Now, Aeron had to pick up the three cards in the stock to play with, since she was out. But, she and I play it a bit differently. Our own variation of the game.

I slapped my hand down on the deck and chanted:

"_Too slow, thy brave heart,_

_In this game we take part,_

_I declare these cards mine and mine alone._

_Next time, be faster, to achieve what I own!"_

This resulted in another glare from Aeron. She took her hand away and I took the cards for myself. Hey, I had an empty hand too. She wasn't the only one who needed them.

We noticed Yugi and Joey looking at us with a confused expression. I quickly explained. "It's a little thing we made up for any game like this. Whoever puts their hand down on the cards or pieces of whatever first and chants that gets, well, whatever you're chanting for. It doesn't matter if you have cards or whatever is used the game or not. You can still use it. Any player can."

They both nodded their heads and we went back to the game.

My turn… man I'm on a roll! The cards that I had picked up were all Nines. This was going to be amusing.

Instead of asking for it, I simply snatched Joey's last card-which upshot in protest from Joey- and laid the four cards down in a book.

Joey stopped protesting and gaped at the cards for a second. Then he crossed his arms and pouted. He knew he lost.

I had won with eight books, Aeron came in second with four, and Joey lost with one. I felt pretty proud of myself. But, I didn't take all credit. While Aeron cheered for coming in second (I'm guessing she thought I was going to win the whole time and was just glad she came in second), I leaned over to Yugi and whispered, "Thanks."

"Your welcome." He replied, just as low.

I probably wouldn't have guessed Joey would have had an Ace. I always believed friends told the truth. Not that I was ranting angrily at Joey. I didn't mind. He was just… uh… actually; I don't know what he was doing.

Just then, we heard someone come into the shop.

"Hello." A voice called. It was Ryou.

"In the living room." Yugi answered back.

Ryou and Bakura later (as in 2 minutes at the most) walked into the room.

"Hi!" chirped Ryou.

Yugi returned the greeting and told them to sit down on the couch. Bakura obliged but Ryou waited. He asked if he could help clean up our _Go Fish_-y mess.

Aeron and I saw our chance. We pounced… toward Yugi, that is.

"Yugi!" we nearly shouted. We had kind of jump toward him at the same time, so the total force of our voice and our actions pushed him back. Meaning: he fell on his back like a turtle.

Yugi chuckled a little. He knew what we wanted. He also knew that Atem wasn't going to like it. (Thankfully, the ex-pharaoh wasn't in the house and out somewhere with Grandpa.) "Go ahead."

We jumped up to our feet and plopped ourselves on the couch next to Bakura- much to his dislike.

With me to his left and Aeron to his right, he probably felt uncomfortable (especially since we were sitting quite close to the thief, not the two spots over he probably would've rather had us). But he didn't show it.

"What do you two want?" he asked in a fairly annoyed tone.

"Business." I said simply.

Bakura eyed me. I don't think he trusted me.

"What kind of business?" he asked slowly.

"We want to sell you something." Aeron answered.

"Sell me something? What have you two to sell? I see nothing valuable on you. Unless… you two are so desperate for money-" before Bakura could finish, Ryou interrupted.

"Bakura!" he snapped. "That's just wrong! I can't believe you would say that! That's low, even for you!"

"I didn't even finish!" Bakura defended.

"Don't need to! I know you were going to say!"

Aeron and I just giggled.

"Not that kind of business, 'Kura." I explained. I took out my phone and opened up the picture I took of Atem. "I know it isn't that funny, but funny it is." I showed him the picture. "Does it take your interest?"

Bakura took a good look at the photo. "Why, yes it does." A smirk played across his lips.

"Then, may suggest purchasing it for a mere forty dollars?"

"Forty bucks!"

"20 for me, 20 for Aeron. I know it might seem a high price now, but I assure you, when I get more- and I _know_ I'll get more-" I said this part with an evil smirk myself, "they'll be at a much cheaper price. 40 bucks total is just a start off for us. We just need a little spending money here, 20 bucks each oughtta hold us a while. Until I get another snapshot that is."

Bakura thought it over for a moment before I got an answer. "Deal." He said and reached in his pocket and brought out two crisp twenty dollar bills. He handed one to me and one to Aeron. We happily too the money and I explained to Bakura that all I had to do was hook up my phone to a computer and download the picture. Then he'd have his photo in no time.

"So that's what all the commotion was about?" Ryou asked.

"Yup." Yugi said bluntly.

"So, what is it that you wanted us over about?" Bakura inquired dully.

Yugi simply pulled out his blue pyramid and motioned Aeron and Joey to do the same. Ryou stared at them in awe. As did Bakura.

"Hey, Hikari! Those are the same as yours!" Bakura exclaimed.

"Mokuba and Kaiba are sharing one too." Yugi said plainly.

"What!" Both Bakurae said simultaneously.

"Mokuba came over not long ago and showed it to us." Yugi answered the silverettes' confusion.

I criss-crossed my legs in my seat. "Seems like everybody has one, doesn't it." I said.

* * *

Margherita was floating above a small rundown part of a city somewhere in Florida. She had been watching a pair of identical twin teenage girls who had had a rough day.

Both girls had jet black hair and dark, dark, dark, chocolate brown eyes. Margherita noticed that, despite their tattered and old clothing, they had unimaginable beauty. Made her slightly jealous, it did, to still look beautiful with filth and grim on you and tattered clothing.

The girls had lived in the dilapidated part of the city most of their lives, it seemed, for they knew all the shortcuts and places to avoid. But, even that didn't protect them by getting bused and tormented by gangs and others who thought they were better than them.

They were clearly unhappy. They were perfect.

Margherita flew down to an alley and used her powers to disguise herself as a teenager. She was planning on having a talk with the two beauties.

Kara and Sara took another alley as a shortcut to get home.

"Hurry up, Kara! I don't want to run into another gang before we get home! I still have bruises on my stomach from the last one." Sara whined. She was running a bit faster than her sister.

"What's the point!" Kara argued. "You know Uncle Dino will only be as drunk as ever when we get home! And actually, I'd rather take my chances with the gangs."

"Why?" Sara felt the opposite. She felt their Uncle was definitely safer than any gang… even though he was always hopelessly drunk.

Kara hesitated. She felt uncomfortable answering this. Extremely uncomfortable. "Uncle… Uncle Dino… has… has been looking at me funny. It makes me scared." Kara muttered but Sara heard her.

Sara walked back to her sister and enveloped her in a hug. "He won't do anything to you. I won't let that happen. If he dares come near you, I'll stick one of his beer bottles up his ass."

Kara chuckled a bit. "Physically impossible sis."

"I'll make it possible." Sara said.

"Awe, what a sweet sister moment." A voice came from behind them. They swung around to see a person they knew all too well. Viper, leader of the Cold Bloods.

The Cold Bloods was a gang that had often mugged and harmed Kara and Sara Johansson. The twins thought they'd never escape him.

Viper strutted up to the two. Sara stood in front of her sister to protect her.

"So, how 'bout you give us all you got and we might just leave you alone for once, eh?" Viper lifted Sara's chin up to look at her.

"We don't have any money on us." Sara said bravely.

"Then, how 'bout you give us something else." Viper said softly and what sounded to Sara as seductively.

Three of the other Cold Bloods stepped out into the alley. Sara saw that perverted smiles covered their faces as did a smirk covered Viper's.

"Touch me or my sister and you'll be freakin' sorry." Sara hissed, narrowing her eyes dangerously. Kara whimpered.

"Is that a challenge?" Viper inquired teasingly.

Sara never traveled unarmed. And now, because Viper wasn't that smart and that he was just about as big as her made him an easy opponent to beat, she was able to fight back properly.

Sara lunged at Viper. In her right hand, a shining silver knife raised high.

Viper, caught off guard, wasn't fast enough to defend himself. This made slicing his arm an easy task.

A large, bloody gash decorated the boy's arm. Viper cried out in pain and dropped to his knees.

His buddies came rushing to aid and to take revenge. But before they could make any retaliating move, there was a flash of light…

And they were turned to stone.

Sara and Kara- who was now at her sister's side- stared wide eyed at the sight. The three boys looked like perfect statues.

Viper was amazed also. He was scared speechless. He tried to rise and run, but, once he got to his feet, he was thrown back against the brick wall by an invisible force.

The scared boy and the awed girls heard laughter from the top of the wall behind them. They looked up to see a purple haired teenage girl sitting atop it.

She jumped down from the high wall with ease. She also seemed to feel no pain from the 10 foot drop. She walked up the frightened boy and held his face toward her.

Viper froze at the touch.

"Hm. You'd be such a handsome boy if you didn't treat these girls with such tyranny." The strange girl turned toward Sara and Kara. "What do you think his punishment should be? Should I kill him, or imprison him in a button? I'd be fine with both really."

Sara was once lost for words. Kara was the one who spoke up this time. "Don't kill him!" he squeaked out.

The purple haired girl looked confused. "And why not? He was going to hurt you. He deserves it."

"No one deserves death." Kara murmured.

"No one deserves death." Sara agreed. "But I don't see how imprisoning him in a button isn't what he deserves."

The purple haired girl looked pleased. "I have another idea." She held her hands over the boy and muttered something. Viper began to glow. When the glow became too bright for them, Kara and Sara closed their eyes, only to open them again to see their enemy gone and a silver bracelet shaped as a snake in his place.

Sara blinked. "Did you do that?"

"Yes." the girl responded. She picked up the bracelet and walked over to Sara, handing it to her.

Sara looked at it suspiciously. She didn't think any of this was right.

"Who are you?" Sara asked instead.

"A friend. My name's Margherita. I kind of went through the same thing you're going through. Abused by all. Tormented by most. That thing." the girl said.

"Really," Sara said.

"Yes. In fact, I do not understand why you two didn't want that boy to die. He wouldn't have treated you any better if we let him go. Why spare him?" Margherita said.

"Because… because…" Sara didn't know what to say. Viper wouldn't have turned the other leaf. He would have just gone on with his reign of tyranny.

"You know, that's what the world is like. All humans are like that. Why shouldn't they all die? Why spare all the evil?" Margherita magically doubled the bracelet and cast a spell on each. She put each bracelet on Sara's and Kara's arms. "Why not join me? We can get rid of this menace together. And, once it's all over, I'll grant you immortality. We can rule over the good ones, the ones that aren't like that boy, together, the three of us."

Sara and Kara would've objected to this idea. But, they couldn't. They actually agreed with her.

And without a second thought, Kara and Sara followed Margherita.

* * *

Margherita and her minions ended up in New York. Margherita blinked. "Now how do I always end up here?" she wondered bitterly aloud.

"Perhaps you have to do something here." Sara suggested.

Margherita thought a moment. "Hm. Perhaps you're right."

She found a hiding place atop another wall that gave a perfect outlook on a few roads and alleys. Kara and Sara joined her.

Not long after, they heard shouting and barking from an alley that was in their sight. They saw a group of policemen and police dogs surrounding something. Margherita told the girls to stay put and left the hiding place to get a closer look. What she saw made her grin.

A boy, about seventeen or eighteen by the look of him, was what the group was surrounding. One policeman was putting him in handcuffs while another one was searching his pockets. The one searching his pockets pulled out a brown wallet.

"A greedy thing I see." Margherita murmured.

She leapt from her vantage point and quickly disposed of the officers- turning them to toads. The dogs tried to sneak away but she got to them before they could flee- she changed them into fleas.

She walked up to the confused boy who was looking around wondering where the police had gone so suddenly.

He only noticed her when she blasted the handcuffs of his wrists.

"Who're you?" the boy asked.

Margherita didn't answer. She just looked the boy up and down. He was dressed in a grey sweatshirt and ruffed up jeans. He had extremely worn down tennis shoes on his feet. He had dark skin and not much hair on his head. Or was that just a hairstyle?

She answered him at length. "Margherita." She said as she picked up the brown wallet on the ground. "Is this what they were after you for? A wallet?"

"Yeah. It's stupid. It's not like a diamond or anything. I only pinched that because I thought I could get away with it. Guess not. If I could get away with a diamond…" the boy laughed. Margherita could see how greedy this boy was. She wondered if he only dressed like this to keep attention away from himself. She wondered if he actually was as poor as he looked.

_No matter. _She thought. _He could be of great use to me._

She held out the hand that didn't hold the wallet, palm facing the sky. Instantly, a small pile of gold formed in her hand.

The boy looked at her in surprise and disbelief. Then, another emotion took over. Greed. His eyes sparkled at the sight.

"You like this?" Margherita asked.

"Yes I do." He said bluntly, yet quietly.

"Well," Margherita transformed the pile of gold- much to the boy's disappointment- into a silver torque- which lifted the boy's spirits- that had a daisy imprint on it, " join me and you'll have all the riches you want."

The boy blinked. Still looking at the torque, he said, "This sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi movie."

Margherita didn't know what that was. So she just agreed. "Perhaps, but this is real." She slipped the torque on the boy's arm. "Well?" she pressed.

"All the riches I want, huh? Sounds good to me." The boy followed her to the hiding place where the girls were.

* * *

After the four were united, she gave them a minute to get acquainted. Margherita was smart. She knew that if the three couldn't get along, she'd be doomed.

"What's your name?" Kara asked.

"Logan. You?" the boy answered.

"Kara." Kara said, putting a hand to her chest to emphasize.

"Sara." Sara pointed to herself with her thumb.

After a moment, Margherita cut in their conversation. "Now that you're all acquainted, it's time for your first job. There are seven jewel pyramids that I need you to gather. I've been searching them with my magic and have found that two you can just out and find. The other five are possessed by mortals. You will have to win them off of the humans, as is part of the protective spell on the pyramids. I need you to off and search for the first to and get them before any other mortal can get to them."

Logan's hand shot up.

"And no, Logan, you can't keep the pyramid, I need all of them."

And with that, she sent her gofers off.


	24. A Metting at KaibaCorp

**Ok. Took me a while to post this up. It's obvious this might win an award for "Fanfiction's Longest Fanfic", once finished. LOL. Anyway-**

**Bakura: HURRY UP WILL YA! STOP WASTING TIME! **

**Me: Oh, shut up fluffy! I've had a lot going on for the past few weeks k?**

**Bakura: What are you talking about? The past three weeks should've been summer vacation.**

**Me: FYI- today was my last day of school nimrod!**

**Bakura: ... _tou-chy_.**

**Yugi: Uh, oh. It's starting. **

**Bakura: What's starting, the fic?**

**Yugi: ... That- and something else I'll tell ya after the chapter ends.**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 24**_

_**A Meeting at KaibaCorp**_

We were sitting at KaibaCorp… in a meeting room… waiting for Kaiba. Seriously! He was the one who invited us here and _he's _late! Welcome one and all to Domino's 8th Annual Spelling Bee, Kaiba spell _punctuality. _Kaiba: Um… I don't know. _**ISN'T THAT RIGHT!**_

It was Friday and Aeron and I have been here for practically a week and I have _never_ been this bored. Really. There was something going on everyday. Wednesday, Tèa had taken me and Aeron to the mall to get us some more clothes so we wouldn't be wearing the same exact thing everyday. We both got two extra outfits. We would've probably caved and bought more if Tèa hadn't insisted she buy them- we didn't want to waste her money. Tuesday, we visited Marik in his hotel to discuss what the pyramids were- to no avail; Marik had no idea of what they were. We found out Ishizu and Odion were also here but had went back home (they apparently felt that it was their brother's duty to stay and help and they had no part in it-don't ask, I don't know). Yesterday, Thursday, we watched Joey duel some random kid on the street! Today, we were sitting on hard chairs in a cold and quiet business room waiting on Seto _freaking_ Kaiba! Sorry… I'm a bit upset.

I felt the need to say something, but, for some odd reason, I sensed that if I said something and ruined the silence, I would be punished dearly for it, thus I kept my mouth shut. **(A/N: Erica: Meaning, I was scared. Me: whatever!) **

Thankfully, Mokuba ran in the room. "Sorry. But Seto had a few more things he needed to fix in his newest project. He'll be here in a minute."

_So, a KaibaCorp project is more important than this? I see. If God told you to something, would you hold _that _off for your company?_ I scorned in my head. I was really bored.

"So you mean he's _working_ on it now, or on his way?" Joey asked.

"He's on his way." Mokuba said taking a seat next to said blond. This put him right across from me.

He noticed I was sitting there right after he sat down. Strange. Did his face turn a shade of pink? Ah, well. Probably just the light.

I laid my head down on my arms on the table. "He better hurry up. When I get too bored, I get sleepy. And right now, I feel as though I need a nap." I said, closing my eyes.

From the darkness, I heard a slap. Aeron must've face-palmed. Then I heard a few giggles.

_Everyone's here. Everyone from the show that went through most of the Arcs. Yugi, Atem, Ryou, Bakura, Tèa, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Marik-who really only went through one Arc, but he was a main character in that one-, Mokuba… all we need now was Kaiba. What's taking him so long?_…

And that was my last thought before I fell asleep.

* * *

Didn't seem like a second, more like three milliseconds, when I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

"Erica, Erica! Wake up!" that was Aeron.

"Huh." I muttered, waking up slowly. I raised my head up and rubbed my eyes.

I heard a giggle. I looked at Aeron.

"What?" I asked. She just looked at me. Then I felt atop my head that my hair was messed up. I straightened it out.

"Ahem. Now that everyone's awake…" I heard an icy voice say next to me. I turned to see that Seto Kaiba was sitting at the head of the table.

I blinked.

"How long have I been asleep?" I whispered to Aeron.

"Don't worry, he just got here." She whispered back. I silently prayed thanks to God that she didn't let me sleep any longer.

"…Who are you two?" he motioned to me and Aeron. "I don't remember Mokuba telling me of you."

"I was going to but you didn't let me." Mokuba argued.

"Next time, remind me to let you then." Kaiba said plainly.

"Ok, Seto." Mokuba said.

Kaiba looked back over to us and we introduced ourselves. The part that happened next was Yugi and Ryou, with help from Mokuba, reciting the explanations that they had extreme practice at performing. Have you noticed the story of how Aeron and I got here has become pretty popular?

"But, what is this to you? You probably don't believe us." Joey added at the end.

Kaiba gave him a look that was meant to tell him to shut up. _Meant._ Key word.

"And it doesn't have anything to do with your company. Why are ya so interested in this anyway?" Joey continued.

"Because," Kaiba said, "I have a pyramid too. I want to know why I have an object I don't remember buying."

"You mean 'we', right, Seto?" Mokuba inquired.

"Of course, Mokuba." Mokuba smiled at his brother's answer.

"I used to wonder why I had things I didn't remember buying." Ryou stated, looking at Bakura. "I soon realized that I didn't want the answer."

I held back a giggle. So true, Ryou, so true.

"You didn't have to tell us for us to know that, Ry." Tristan said. That giggle I mentioned before?... yeah… it was becoming harder to hold in.

Next to me, I saw Seto shake his head. Must've been annoyance.

"_Anyway_," Kaiba said, "let's discuss what we know about all this."

_That ain't much Seto._ I sighed in my head. This was going to be a long morning.

* * *

Lemonie was flying frantically. After dropping the two remaining pyramids, she decided to get help from the ones she gave the first four to. She knew she couldn't take on Margherita herself. She was too small.

But where were they!

Lemonie didn't know where they were. She tried to sense the pyramids' magic, but other magics were blocking it.

She had been flying around a tall building with the letters KC on the top as someone would pace the ground in a thinking state. She was so buried in her frenzied thoughts that she took a sharp turn too early and flew straight into a window.

"Ow." Lemonie muttered.

* * *

We were extremely deep in a conversation that was getting us nowhere. I finally gave up on listening. I laid my head back down to hopefully take a catnap. Aeron would wake me up if they discovered something important.

I was just about to fall asleep when-

_THUMP!_

I jerked my head up. Everyone else went silent. Mokuba turned his head to his left, my right, to look out the window. Kaiba did the same, but he had to turn all the way around in his seat to see out the window, considering his back was _to _the window.

"It's just an insect." Kaiba said in a non-caring monotone.

I looked at it for a second longer though, as did everybody else. But, they just wanted to see the bug that made the sound; I wanted to see if it _was_ a bug.

Bugs _splat _when they hit a window- not _thump_. Also, I was close enough to see that it wasn't what a bug usually looks like, but I wasn't so close that I could tell exactly what it was either. Furthermore, bugs don't radiate a strong… aura… as this thing did.

"I'm not so sure that it's a bug." I said simply before I stood up and strolled to the window.

The poor little thing was already sliding down the glass; apparently, it still hadn't gotten over the shock of hitting the transom and thus hadn't flown off already.

… You should've seen my face when I saw what the "bug" was.

"WHAT THE RA!" I shouted probably louder than necessary.

Surprised, the others back at the table jerked towards me. I ignored their astonished, confused looks and Kaiba's aggravated one. I opened the window up and snatched up the little figure before she could fall off the window ledge and to the ground far below.

"What is it, Erica?" Yugi asked me calmly, the shock of my scream must've worn off.

In answer, I merely opened my clasped hands to reveal a small, unconscious Faerie.

My friends' eyes widened in "WTF". Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, Millennium Items, and Shadow Magic were normal and to be expected, but not a real, live Faerie.

If I wasn't in the **Yu-Gi-Oh!** universe right now, and living up my own fantasy, I would've squealed like a five year old at this find. I openly admit I still believed in Tinkerbelle and had always wanted to see a faerie.

I sat her down on the table and everybody gathered around. Even Seto Kaiba.

The little faerie began to wake up. She moved around a bit and sat up. She began to rub her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she yelped.

* * *

All Lemonie could see were big people.

Humans.

Humans… whom she recognized.

There was that Snowy-boy, his brother, the spiky boy, his brother, that black haired boy, the brown haired girl, and that suspicious blond. The rest, she couldn't distinguish. She had vague images that resembled the rest in her head, but she didn't remember them.

_What is Lemonie to do? Should she say something or let her captors speak first? _She thought.

After a few moments of silence, she realized they were waiting on her to say something. _Humans. _She mentally sweatdropped.

She had to say something. But what? As soon as that question appeared in her mind, the answer followed. Challenge them. Confront them in some way.

She chose to identify the suspicious blond. She felt that talking to her would be less awkward, since the blond could sense her presence.

"Suspicious blond shouldn't stare like that. People could find her foul." She said to the blond, arms crossed over her chest.

* * *

My eyes amplified. Was she talking to me?

"Sorry." Joey muttered.

I face-palmed. The little faerie turned to Joey and looked as if she was going to do the same.

"Joey, I think she was talking to me." I said bluntly.

"How do you know?" he countered.

"She said: _her_."

"Oh."

Everyone groaned at Joey's stupidity. The faerie was just confused.

"Anyway," I said to the faerie who turned back around to me when I spoke, "sorry. I just never saw a real, live faerie before."

"Suspicious blond hasn't?" she asked.

"Nope. And why do you keep calling me 'suspicious blond'?"

"Because, suspicious blond can sense Lemonie's presence. That in itself is suspicious. Especially for a _human_."

"What?" I was thoroughly confused. Sense her presence. What-?

"Oops. Lemonie didn't mean to say that much." The faerie clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Lemonie, that is your name right?" the faerie nodded. I continued, "What do you mean sense your presence? That doesn't make any sense."

"Remember the day suspicious blond thought something was behind the lamp?" I nodded. "Lemonie was behind it. Lemonie had followed you home."

… Ok, you tell me. Should I question Lemonie further? Or should I scream out _I told ya so!_ I really want to do both.

Next to me, I heard Aeron mutter, "So Erica was right. There was something behind the lamp." Well. So much for saying _I told ya so_.

"Um, Lemonie, why is that? How come nobody else can?" I asked Lemonie instead.

"That, Lemonie does not know." She answered. So much for _that_.

"What I'd like to know," Bakura said, "is why this little titch was following us."

_Yeah, why? _I might've thought this, but we all agreed.

Lemonie was silent for a moment. She shuffled her teeny feet in thought.

"It-it's a l-long story for Lemonie to-to tell." She muttered/stuttered.

"We've got time." Duke remarked.

* * *

**Bakura: Now, tell me, midget, what's starting. **

**Yugi: _Fanfiction Author's Insanity Spike Syndrome_**

**Bakura: ... What the Ra is that?**

**Yugi: It's a condition that all fanfic authors- starting with Hotaru and going on from there- have. it starts out where their snappy and angry, then they go-**

**Hotaru:*runs in room with a Sailor Moon costume on and a ladle in her hand and a crazy look on her face* EXPECTO PATRONUM! Avast ye matees! I have defeated The Great Potato Pancake Monster of the Western Sea! **

**Bakura: *Blinks as he watches Hotaru* _stark raving mad?_**

**Yugi: Yeah... pretty much that. **


	25. Lemonie's Story & First Spell

**I'M BAAAAAACK!**

**Bakura: Oh, great, another chapter of this sh-**

**Ryou: Bakura!**

**Me: Ugh. Ignoring Baku-kitty-**

**Bakura: Not a kitty!**

**Me: I've finally updated this story! For you few readers that I have- I'm not sure how many, I just know I've been barely getting reviews and that most of the reviews I got were from my dad... had to tell him to quit reading!- this is a long chapter for compensation for your long wait... if any of you waited... **

**P.s. If any of you read my other story Meme Me! which was a meme, you'd know I've been suffering from a terrible case of F.A.I.S.S, Fanfiction Authors Insanity Spike Syndrome. I've got medicine for that now and am feeling a lot better! But I will have crazy tendencies! Now, It's been a while since I had a disclaimer and I feel like I want one right now!**

**Ryou: So who's going to do that? ...Bakura left the room and now it's only me and you now.**

**Me: Ry, you should know by now that, when a character is in the same room as the author(ess), the character is the one who does the disclaimer.**

**Ryou: That's the long version of saying 'me', isnt it?**

**Me: Yup!**

**Ryou: *sighs* Hotaru doesnt own Yugioh, Kazuki Takahashi does, she just wishes that he would give it away one day so then she could own it.**

**Me: I'd bring this series back to life!**

**Ryou: It'd be filled with Yaoi, then, wouldnt it?**

**Me: ...Maybeh...**

**Ryou: ... **

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 25**_

_**Lemonie's Story & First Spell**_

"Should Lemonie tell the whole story or just the reason why she was following suspicious blond?" Lemonie asked.

I banged my head on the table. Will I _ever _be known as something other than _suspicious blond_?

"The whole story, if it'd give us good insight." Tèa answered.

"Then Lemonie thinks whole story would be best." She remarked.

_

* * *

__The longest time ago, Atlantis was a city of greatness. The Atlantians had created it to last forever…_

* * *

"And we all know how that turned out." Tristan stated.

"Shush, Tristan." Tèa whispered.

_

* * *

__And it did last the longest time, but perhaps the invention of a magical serum helped it. _

_This serum was created so people could inter-dimensionally travel. It was created after the Atlantians discovered a way with portals, but the serum was created to make traveling simpler._

* * *

"Cool… hey, sounds like two people we know…" Joey said.

Everyone, including Lemonie, looked at me and Aeron. This made me a bit nervous. I wasn't going to let them imply that I was related to Atlantis… I'm too boring for that.

"Lemonie, the story?" I urged. Lemonie began her story again and everyone's eyes adverted from me to Lemonie.

_

* * *

__Just after this invention was created, a new "race" of Atlantians was born. They were still pure Atlantian, but they were called Atari._

_A few centuries later, everyone in Atlantis was Atari, except for one girl. This one girl had been born like the ancients. She had been named Margherita, meaning daisy. _

* * *

"Margarita? She was named after a beer?"

"Joey… a Margarita isn't exactly a _beer_. It is an alcoholic drink, yes, but not a _beer._ Now… QUIT INTERRUPTING‼" Tèa rebuked.

Lemonie sighed.

_

* * *

__Once word got out that she couldn't teleport dimensions, she was harshly picked on by other children and even adults. The darkness began to grow inside her as the years passed. She soon became a hateful, dark, cold, and evil Atlantian woman. She had vowed to destroy Atlantis, and that she almost did. Before she could she was defeated by an Atari girl and sealed in a daisy pendant. _

_Now, millennias later, the pendant was raised out of the water and into the un-refracted sunlight. And she is free…_

* * *

"Margherita is Lemonie's person. Lemonie is her personal Faerie. And Lemonie really doesn't want Person to get hurt. Person could get hurt for what she is planning to do." Lemonie looked down dejectedly. She obviously cared for this Margherita.

But, Margherita was depicted as evil in her later years. She had good reason to become an angry adult, but not full blown evil. She also seemed very irrational. Although, I hadn't heard every single event in Margherita's back-story.

Wait. She had been evil. She had tried to destroy Atlantis. What would she do now that she was back…?

"Lemonie?" I said carefully. "What is Margherita going to do now, now that she's… free?"

Lemonie looked at me a moment. She seemed to be contemplating on whether or not to trust me. Then she looked at Ryou, Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba.

She looked back at me. She appeared to be studying me. Like she was trying to remember something.

Her eyes widened. She, then, told me something I had guessed. "Person is planning on destroying the world."

Everyone's eyes widened, but no one said anything. Well, everyone but me. My eyes narrowed ever so slightly. I glanced at Yugi and the others. I found that only Aeron had a surprised twinkle in her eye. The others' eyes were glittering with annoyance, anger, or both.

I looked back at Lemonie, who seemed to be staring… at me. Ignoring her gaze, I asked. "Lemonie, do you know anything else? Like where or how she'll strike first?"

"Lemonie doesn't know exactly, but she does know what Person wants and needs for her plan to succeed." Lemonie answered.

"What's that?"

"The Seven Jewel Pyramids."

"The seven what now?" Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"The Seven Jewel Pyramids. Lemonie gave four of suspicious blonde's friends each a pyramid. Sadly, she dropped and lost two of them. The seventh wasn't in the palace under the sea. It is lost." Lemonie responded.

I looked at Aeron. "Um, Lemonie, what color was the lost one?"

"Red."

I nudged Aeron in the side. She took my hint and pulled out her pyramid.

"Oh!" was all Lemonie could say when she saw the ruby object.

"It wasn't lost after all." I simply said.

Everybody had started to talk amongst themselves of what they heard. Joey, though, strained in trying to get everyone's attention. He apparently realized something.

I noticed him, unlike everyone else (including Aeron, which was a bit surprising), and giggled at his vain attempts.

He tried yelling, whistling, and even banging the table. Nothing worked. He rested his head on the table in defeat. At length, I decided to give him a helping hand- mainly to see his reaction; I was in a good mood.

I've never yelled to a group of people before to make them shut up. I always wanted to make sure people liked me, but this opportunity was too good to pass up.

I took a breath to ready myself and then- "YO! SHUT-UP! JOEY'S GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!"

Joey's head snapped up from the table at the same time everyone went quiet.

Wow. I'm good.

All and sundry looked at me in surprise.

"Wow. Didn't know you could yell like that 'Rica." Aeron said, eyes wide.

"I try." Was all I said.

There was a short silence next; everybody, excluding me, was getting over their shock. Many heads turned toward Joey.

"Heheh." Joey laughed nervously. He cleared his throat. "Thanks, Erica, for getting' their 'ttention."

"Welcome!" I replied cheerily.

Next to me, Kaiba smirked. I had a feeling about what was going to be said next.

"Apparently the Mutt's bark isn't as loud today. He used to howl louder than a construction truck." Kaiba teased.

Joey growled angrily, making him sound like a dog, himself. "I ain't a dog, rich boy!"

I resisted the urge to say, '_at least he didn't call you a furry, Joey_'. It was _so_ tempting. But had great self restraint.

"Anyway," Joey continued, "I had already said dis, but I feel I need ta evaluate on it."

"What is it, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Rememba da story? Atlantians gained da powa ta travel through dimensions. Who does dat sound like?"

Crap. Maybe I shouldn't have helped him.

24 eyes rested on me and Aeron now. There was a strange silence. I didn't like it.

Aeron, though, was the one who spoke.

"If you're saying we're Atlantian, then you're sadly mistaken. I know for a _fact_ that I'm Scottish, French, German, Choctaw, and Jewish. I'm not _Atlantian_." She said. Aeron then looked at me. "But I'm not sure about Erica, though."

I looked at her in shock. "_Me?_ You think _I'm _Atlantian? For your know, I'm Cherokee, Irish, Italian, Black Dutch, German…" my voice trailed off after that. I knew I had more foreign blood in me than that. I counted all I had in me once, all I knew, and got seven… I just forget what else.

"Anything else?" Aeron laughed.

"Hold on, I'm thinking."

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"Hey! If you had as much foreign blood in you as I do, you'd forget too!"

"Don't forget to count Atlantian."

"Why do you keep insisting I'm Atlantian?"

"Well," Aeron put up her pointer finger (_oh boy, a list_), "one, look where we are. The story clearly said Atlantians could travel dimensions and I'm pretty sure no other culture can do that. Two, we didn't come here until _you _solved that puzzle." She motioned to the Millennium Puzzle, which I have kept hung around my neck. "And three, who got the great responsibility of saving the world here, me or you?"

Not knowing what to say, I just lowered my head in defeat and clasped the Millennium Puzzle tightly in my hands. I could ask how she knew _I_ was the one to save the world, but she'd find a reason. She always does. It was rare I won a true battle against her. Probably because, when she and I argue, I jump in with_out_ a strategy or facts, she does. And both are good.

There was a diminutive silence, and then Lemonie spoke up.

"If suspicious blond isn't sure, then another story might explain." The tiny Faerie said.

"Another story?" Mokuba spoke up.

"Yes. A legend actually. The legend states: that Person would one day be released and the reincarnation of the Atari girl who sealed her in the pendant would awaken her powers and seal Person away again… or destroy Person… Lemonie forgets which."

I felt eyes dart my way and look back at Lemonie.

"Miss… Lemonie," Atem began, "what does the Atari girl that sealed this evil away look like?"

Lemonie looked thoughtful for a moment, then decisive, then regretful. She sighed. "Lemonie needs a piece of carta."

Everyone looked at her confusedly.

"What?" she asked, confused herself. "Oh, carta. Atlantian for paper."

Heads nodded in understanding and Mokuba ran off to get a piece of paper, since he was the only one who knew where some was and Kaiba was obviously not going to take orders from a Pixie.

The black haired young-teen came back with a blank sheet of white paper. He laid it on the table next to Lemonie and she snapped her fingers.

"Whatever happens, that isn't intended, isn't Lemonie's fault." She declared, which unnerved me.

The Faerie then put her hands on the paper and it began to shine bright with many colors. When the shine dimmed to a calm glow, I leaned toward it for a closer look.

What I saw made my eyes bug out in astonishment.

Every pixel in the picture was glowing like colorful embers. Very sparkly. But that's not what shocked me. It was the fact that the image of a teenage girl that looked _way_ too like me!

The girl in the photo had blond, crinkly hair- like me. Dark blue eyes- like me. Every feature looked like me! Way too freaky!

But there small differences though. The hair was longer, close to the back of her knees, and with lighter highlights. It was even wilder. The eyes were a darker blue and they had tints of green at one corner of the iris and purple at the other. Her features were a bit sharper than mine, at least when I last checked in the mirror mine were smoother.

But these were things that were pretty small. The only beg differences were her clothes and the background. But, that only was because of the time difference.

"She looks exactly like ya, Erica!" Joey shouted out. Apparently, I was the only one to notice the small differences.

Still in shock, I slipped out of my seat and onto the floor next to my chair. My hand rested on the tabletop, but it did nothing else. _I _did nothing else. I just sat there with the same amazed expression on my face.

Lemonie began to speak as everyone was gawking over the picture. It sounded like the basics of how my counter part sealed Margherita in the pendant. It seems that, my counter part had been living a normal teenage life until Atlantis was almost destroyed by Margherita once. Then Atlantis waged war against her and her troops, people and creatures whom she'd stolen the minds and souls of, something Atlantis never did before. Using magic of her own, my counter part had joined the war and used her magic to defeat many enemies and eventually found a way to get rid of Margherita.

Lemonie had told a bit more than that (and in much more exuberant detail) but I was only half listening. My mind was somewhere else.

_Me? Atlantian? What the Ra! This is all happening way too fast! I was just at home, preparing for a fan club, hanging out with Aeron, and being as normal I could and should be. Now I'm here, in the universe of my favorite TV show and learning that I'm an Atlantian who has a destiny bestowed upon her and magical powers! Repeat: What. The. Ra! Do my parents even know about any of the things I know now…? _

My thoughts went on that train track for a while. I tried denying it to myself; I tried to believe this was some dream. I tried in vain to wake up. But I couldn't. It was all real. I think I finally snapped. I was learning too much about myself within a short period of time. A 13 year old girl can only take so much!

When this train of thought stopped, I realized. I wasn't truly freaked. It was just an emotion all humans practice and have to be the first to feel at revelations like this. I was actually calm. To know this felt normal, actually, it felt better. I felt refreshed.

Really weird.

Above me, I heard what sounded like Yugi saying, "Hey, where'd Erica go?"

I take it he didn't notice me fall on the floor.

Aeron answered, "Um, I don't know." She leaned in her seat and saw me in the floor (FINALLY! SOMEBODY NOTICED! I was beginning to feel a bit _emo_ there for the lack of acknowledgement!). "Oh! There she is! Erica, what are you doing in the floor?"

Hm. I could either come back with 'What does it look like I'm doing?' or 'Inspecting everyone's shoes.' Which one though? Wait! I know!

"Trying to bang my head on the underneath of the table." I replied.

"Why would you do that?"

I was climbing back into my seat when she said this. Once in my seat, I reached over and whacked the backside of her head.

"OW! What in Ra's name was that for!" she rubbed the back of her head.

"Because shut up!"

That silenced Aeron. I only used that line when I was really mad or really, really happy (also really crazy, but according to Bakura, Atem, and- frankly- Joey, Aeron and I are always that). And I do believe I didn't look to happy just then. More like annoyed at how slow Aeron could be.

… No wonder she liked Joey. They were two peas in a pod.

If I was really paying attention to my surroundings at that moment, I'd have heard Mokuba lean over and whisper to Yugi, "Are they always like this?" And an answered, "Yeah, you get used to it." But I wasn't paying that much attention to all that. I was busy still sorting my thoughts and dealing with an Aeron at a slow period… that came out wrong.

Anyway, I settled back into my seat. My eyes rested on the tabletop for a minute. A thought came to me. If my counter part had powers, and all other Atlantians, did that mean I had magical powers too?

I thought on that a moment. I certainly used them when bringing us here. Did I have others though? Surely so. My counterpart indubitably had more than the power to travel dimensions, if she could seal a living person in a small daisy pendant.

My thoughts were sliced through when I heard someone call my name. It sounded like Duke.

I turned my head to face him.

"Hey, mind telling me what's keeping you so calm?" he asked me. "After learning all this, I'd expect you'd be freaking out."

I smiled. With a laugh, I answered, "Believe me, I'm _screaming_ on the inside."

Again, everyone began to talk amid themselves, including me this time. For some reason, I felt more relaxed. I have no idea why.

But, this all ended when Kaiba spoke up moments later.

"You morons. Haven't you noticed that, even with all we know, we're still at square one?" he said coldly.

How did I know a Kaiba-snide-remark was about to pop up?

Everyone-minus one- went quiet, realizing he was right. Joey, that one, just heard up to the word moron. How I know that? He growled and barked, "Hey! Watch it Rich Boy!"

"Quiet, Joey!" Yugi ordered. Joey hushed. "Besides, Kaiba's right. Even though all that information helped us a lot in understanding what's going on, we _are_ at square one again. We don't know when, where, or even how Margherita is going to strike first." Yugi lowered his head in thought. Then, his head snapped back up. There was a flicker of a thought that passed through his soft eyes. "Unless…" his voiced trailed off.

He looked at me like he had an idea. A few- including Joey and Tristan- looked at me because there were confused and didn't know what Yugi was thinking. The others looked at me with the same glimmer of realization Yugi had. Me…

"Why y'all lookin' at me?" I said, perplexed.

"Erica," Yugi said, hope gleamed in his eyes and shone through in his voice, "although you might not believe it, everything checks out that you're… Atlantian. The story said that they had more than the power to travel. Perhaps you could help us. Perhaps you could-"

I cut him off. "See if I could use my powers to find out where Margherita is and what she is doing." My eyes were downcast and my words were plain. Uncertainty, fear, and disbelief intermingled with each and every word.

"Yeah, that." Yugi said, his tone and voice soft.

I glanced up at Yugi. He looked so hopeful. I glanced around the room. Everyone else- excluding Kaiba, who just looked like… Kaiba- did too. Even little Lemonie.

I looked back down at the brown tabletop. I just couldn't disappoint them. It wasn't in my nature to dishearten. But…

"Yugi, I'm sorry, but… I-I can't." I said. I took a deep breath, readying myself for whatever, continuing, "That first time was an accident! I was just solving a puzzle I got for Christmas from Santa. Next thing I know, I'm here. I don't know how to cast spells and perform magic. I'm not a witch. I'm just… me!" I looked back up at Yugi with eyes that were on the verge of tearing up. "I can't do it! I'm nothing special! I'm Erica Stevenson, a 13 year old girl attending Sunnyside Middle School who just has an overwhelming fetish for a TV show about card games! I'm sorry but I just can't do it!"

What was wrong with me? Just a minute ago I felt calm, relaxed, refreshed, and whatnot. Now, I felt like I was going to cry, I felt scared. I felt… I don't know.

Wait, I do know. Accepting I'm Atlantian, accepting I'm different is easy. But it's the reality of accepting I'm magical that's hard. You want to know something else about me? Ever since I was a little girl, I had wanted to be magical. To be a witch. To be a fairy. To be just mythical. Now, learning I am…

What if I hurt someone? What if I can't control what I am? I can't be this. I'm not... qualified for it.

It's just…

I felt someone grab my shoulders. I was gently spun around. I learned soon it was Aeron. She looked not disappointed, thankfully, but very concerned.

"Erica," she said to me, "get a hold of yourself! What's with the freaking out and waterworks? You can do this!" Aeron looked at me for a moment. Tears streamed freely down my cheeks as she continued with a sigh. "Erica, what happened to you? When we were little, you used to run around the house with a ladle in one hand and an oversized broom in the other yelling _Expecto Patronum_ at every thing that moved the slightest, and I used to watch you and wonder if you had overdosed on that sinus medicine that the doctor forced you to take. You used to dream of being a witch and, years later when you got out of _that_ phase, you'd just want to be magical in some way. _'Like Sailor Moon or Inuyasha'_ you'd say. What happened to that Erica? I'd think she'd be showing herself right now and doing the _Erica Happy Dance©._"

Yeah. I used to _dream_ that. Key word: _dream_.

"Aeron," I choked out, "the fantasies were wonderful. But, the reality…"

Aeron decided she wouldn't let me finish. "Have become one in the same. Erica, please, stop. I know it's hard to believe, but you gotta calm down and try. Really," Aeron continued with a laugh, "coming into the world of your favorite TV show you can believe, but when it comes to magical powers, you freak out? It makes no sense!"

The tears stopped at this. Sensing she was using humor now made me feel better. I produced a fake pout. "You know I have different comfort zones."

Aeron smiled. "There's Erica! Now, are we done with the waterworks?"

I nodded and wiped my eyes. Aeron took her hands off my shoulders. That moment we heard laughter. It was obviously Lemonie's.

We looked at her and simultaneously- "What?"

Lemonie just shook her head. "Powers awaken with realization. Along with awakening powers come messed up emotions. Suspicious blond will be going through moody spells at times. So… waterworks aren't done completely."

Aeron blinked. "Sooo, you mean to say that it'll be the equivalent to when Erica PMS's for a while?"

My face flushed. "_**AERON!**_" I yelled.

Aeron ignored me. "How long will this last? Erica can be pretty hard to deal with when-"

"AERON!"

Lemonie giggled at my frantic ways. "Just next two days."

Aeron exhaled in relief. "That's good. I just don't want to deal with-"

I snapped. At Aeron, I shouted, "AERON! IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP I'LL-!"

"Ah!" she yelped. "See?" Aeron said to Lemonie.

Laughter broke out in the room. It seems our new friends found my anger funny. Or they just felt awkward with the conversation. I don't blame them.

After what seemed like forever of everyone's laughter, everyone stopped. Aeron stopped giggling and asked me, "So, Erica-?"

"Fine. I'll try to use whatever powers I allegedly got." I said to her and smiled.

"Good!" Joey cheered, having overheard.

"Finally." Kaiba muttered.

"But… there's one problem." I said.

"What now?" Aeron groaned.

"I don't know how."

Everyone looked at me for a moment before moaning. Lemonie, though, flew up and sat on my shoulder.

"Lemonie can tell suspicious blond. The spell isn't that hard. But we need a big open space in the fresh air." She said.

Well, we have many choices for that. The park being one of them. But Lemonie said something that got rid of that idea.

"A secluded place would be best." Lemonie said.

"How come?" I asked.

Lemonie peered at me with an eyebrow raised. "Does suspicious blond really want to be chased by people with pitchforks?"

My eyes widened. Hurriedly, I said: "NO! No! I'm good! I'm good!"

"Well, if you need an open, secluded place, the KaibaCorp roof is perfect." Mokuba suggested.

"Really? We could use it?" I asked him.

"Yeah, right Seto?" he asked his big brother.

"Sure, whatever." Was all Kaiba said in response.

"See!" Mokuba said to me with a grin.

"Thanks, Mokuba!" I beamed.

… _Kaiba really needs to fix these lights. Mokuba's face seems to get pinker every time I talk to him._

"Alright! To da roof!" Joey hollered.

* * *

We entered the roof **(Ryou: Um, how can you **_**enter**_** a roof? Me: I don't know, Ry, I don't know.) **about thirty minutes after the idea of the roof was made. It was past noon now. How we know this? Joey's stomach grumbled loud and clear.

"Sorry." He said. "Hadn't ate since breakfast."

A few of us giggled, a few didn't.

As everyone left the doorway that lead out to the roof, I stayed near it. All around me, all I could see was sky. I'm pretty sure birds were flying in the air beneath us too.

Yugi looked back to me. "Erica, you coming?"

"No, I think I'm fine here." I replied. I grabbed a hold of the door handle.

Everyone was out in the middle now. Joey was standing at the edge letting his toes hang off. _Now how can he do that?_

If you hadn't noticed, I have a fear of heights. It isn't irrational, but it keeps me away from most high places. But, I can actually handle some, if I've been to them long enough. Take the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House in Disney World, Orlando, Florida, for example. It's pretty high in the air and I can handle it. That's probably because I've been to Disney World more than once, though.

Aeron looked back at me and smirked. Oh joy, here we go.

"Oh, come on Erica. What's wrong?" she drawled, the smirk turning into an evil grin.

"You know very well!" I retorted, gripping the handle tighter.

"Oh, shoot, we're not _that _high up. Birds are flying _only_ 50 feet below us." Aeron's evil grin grew wider. I'm amazed my fingers hadn't worn imprints into the handle I was holding.

I gulped. _50 feet!_ Yeah, that tore it. "I'll just stay here, okay!"

Aeron chuckled evilly. Yugi, who had been listening, though, didn't find it so funny.

"You're afraid of heights, Erica?" he asked, concern in his tone.

"A-a a little." I stuttered nervously.

Aeron stopped her chuckling. "Not so bad she can't tell between virtual and reality flights, but pretty bad nonetheless." She still had her smirk though.

"We're not that high." Joey remarked.

"Yeah," Duke agreed, "and only a great gust of wind could knock us off."

If they didn't shut up soon… I swear I was on the verge of opening that door, running down the steps, and kissing the concrete outside of the tower below.

Tristan mustn't have thought I would. "Whoa! People down there are so tiny, ants are bigger than them! They look like fleas!"

"You can't see fleas." Kaiba huffed.

"Exactly!"

I whimpered. Then, because of nerves probably, I swiftly said, "Well-this-has-been-great-but-I-have-to-go-bye!"

I opened the door as fast as I could and was about to run back down when I felt someone grab my arm. I turned around to find Yugi.

"Yugi?" I cocked my head in a questioning look.

"Ignore them." he said. "It's not so bad when you sit in the middle. It's just the edges that can be a bit freaky."

I looked out to the platform nervously. I really hated heights.

"Here," Yugi said as he slipped his hand into mine, "I'll walk with you!"

At first, I followed slowly, but then I was able to walk a bit of a faster pace.

Joey, Duke, Tristan, Bakura, Marik, and Aeron whistled.

"Oh! Shut up!" Yugi yelled back.

I heard Tèa and Ryou laugh. I giggled as well.

When we arrived in the middle, Yugi sat down. He motioned me to do the same. I obliged.

"See, now, this isn't so bad, is it?" Yugi said with a smile.

"I guess not." I replied looking around. Joey was still standing at the edge; Aeron was staring at Joey; Kaiba and Mokuba were talking to each other on the other side of the circular area; Tèa was counting the grey and white clouds. Atem sat not far from us. Ryou, Marik, and Bakura- in that order- sat along the edge with their feet dangling off; Tristan and Duke were plotting something- I really don't know what, but, if I had to guess, it probably had something to do with Serenity, Joey's younger sister; Lemonie… now where'd she fly off too?

Well, she was a tiny Faerie. I probably just couldn't see her.

"Gosh, it's cold up here." Yugi said, trying to start up a conversation.

"Yeah." I responded. "What happened to that Spring-like day? You know, the day Mokuba came over with news about his pyramid?"

"It must've realized it was in the wrong latitude north." _**(1)**_

I snickered. It was sort of a nerdy joke. It definitely reminded me of Eldred.

The thought of Eldred made me think of home. What was going on back home in Sunnyside? Had Aeron's Aunt called the police to search for us, since mine were in Peru? Surely she would've called Aeron's or my cell by now to check up on us. What about school? Could've the teachers reported us missing? The Principle? Did they even know we were missing?

… How come I had only thought of this now?

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed Yugi calling my name.

"Erica? Erica? Earth to Erica!" he said, waving a hand in my face to get my attention.

I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts. "Sorry, Yugi, just thinking." I said cheerfully.

"'Bout what?" he asked, putting his head in his hands.

"Home." I replied.

"You homesick?" he inquired.

"A little. I was just wondering if anyone realized we were missing. I mean, we practically disappeared right in the middle of the school year. _Someone_ should've realized we weren't at school last week."

"Yeah. Hey," Yugi said with a laugh, "'least they'd notice you missing. I haven't been to school in so long, they just forgot I was supposed to be _in_ school!"

I laughed. "Don't they have laws about you going to school here?"

"'Parently not!"

In the corner of my eye, I saw a bright flash of blue light appear behind the door. Said door, then, busted open wide to reveal a very disgruntled Lemonie.

"People left Lemonie in Great Hallways!" she yelled.

"Sorry, Lemonie." I said. Lemonie _humphed_ and flew over to me.

She "stood" in the air. Violet wings fluttering, an angry expression look upon her face, she stood in the stance of a teenage girl with angry attitude. "Now if suspicious blond is _ready_, we'll start."

I sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be… which ain't much."

Lemonie smiled approvingly and turned to the others, who of which were still talking. She raised her hand in the air and muttered something. All of a sudden, a red flare flew up in the sky and exploded with a loud bang not ten feet above us.

Yugi and I yelped and fell backwards. The others, well…

Joey nearly fell off the building; Aeron caught him and pulled him back, but it resulted in the two falling to the ground (of the roof of course) with a shocked Joey on top of a blushing Aeron. Mokuba jumped into Kaiba's arms. Atem stood up sharply. Tèa, who was laying on the roof, shot up into a sitting position; Duke and Tristan had stopped plotting and now were hugging each other for dear life (_did they think a bomb exploded?_). Marik, poor Marik, had actually fell off the building. He was lucky Bakura and Ryou had caught hold of his arms before he was out of reach. They were now pulling him up onto the roof.

After they all settled down the rest of the group looked toward me and Yugi. Then, they saw Lemonie floating above us. (We were still on our backs, by the way.)

"Alright." Lemonie yelled at everyone in a boss-like manner. "Every person who is-originally- just here for friends, OUT!"

**(Ryou:*exasperatedly* Hotaru, you can't go out of a roof. Me: … but… but… I can't think of anything else! Ryou: *sighs*)**

After thinking about what Lemonie said for a moment (_you cant __**go out**__ of a roof_), those people who were described as such realized what she meant and left. That meant Tèa, Tristan, Duke, and Marik.

Marik, being the last one who entered the doorway we just left, shut the door behind him. Lemonie turned back to the rest of us. "… Too many extras. Why?"

We just looked at Lemonie. I don't think anyone knew what she meant by that.

Lemonie sighed. "Only people with pyramids stay." She pointed to Bakura. "You," she pointed to Atem next, "and you Lemonie knows for a fact that she did not give pyramids to. Leave."

The two Yamis blinked and looked at their Hikaris for a moment before turning to leave.

After Atem shut the door behind him, Mokuba raised his hand. Lemonie looked at Mokuba and said Kaiba asked, "Um, what about me and Seto? Who owns ours?"

"Lemonie intentionally meant the pyramid for young Mokémon." She simply said. I bit my lip to suppress a laugh. Lemonie, before she got lost, must've heard mine and Aeron's conversation on our way up here. We were talking about a **YGO Abridged** episode entitled "**Who's that Mokémon?"**

Mokuba blinked. "…Mokémon?" he looked at his older brother. "Does she mean me?"

"I have no idea. But I know that she better not mean me!" Kaiba answered back.

I let out a short sigh. "She means you Mokuba."

"How do you know?" he asked.

I looked at him for a moment. I really wanted to laugh, but I was able to _not _to. I looked at Aeron. She seemed to be having a harder time. Peering back to Mokuba, I said, "You might not want to know."

"Is it something really bad?" he persisted.

Aeron spoke up this time. "Mokuba, do you like Pokémon?"

"Um, it's an alright show. I've never really been ecstatic about it… but it's okay."

"It has something to do with that."

That is where the conversation ended.

Lemonie motioned for Kaiba to leave. He, reluctantly, did so. He had already argued that he was able to hold the pyramid also, but Lemonie had sent him off all the same muttering something about forgetting to put a spell on it.

Joey seemed happy.

… At his happiness, Aeron was too. God, her and crush! I wonder if I'm the only one who can clearly prove that it is obvious that she has one. Surely Yugi or someone else had noticed.

… Hey, wouldn't it be funny if Joey noticed?

… Oh, c'mon! You know it would!

Anyway, Lemonie then motioned the rest of us- which was me, Aeron, Joey, Yugi, Ryou, and Mokuba- to the side. She then performed some sort of spell.

The next thing I knew the floor beneath us was gone and I had splashed into the cold water of a giant fish tank. Just then, the Jaws theme music came out of nowhere and there was a gigantic shadow swimming towards us. A shark fin popped out of the water just above the shadow. As the music sped up, I saw a giant shark head. Rows upon rows of bloodstained teeth grinned at me.

I wonder who screamed the loudest. I also wonder where that girlish scream came from, because I know the sound didn't come from either me or Aeron.

"OOPS! SORRY!" Lemonie shouted over our screams of pure terror.

Right when the shark was two inches from us, it all disappeared and we were sitting on concrete again.

Behind us, the door opened. Atem, Marik, and, surprisingly, Bakura stuck their heads out.

"We heard screaming." Atem explained.

"We were wondering if you were ok." Marik added.

"We also heard a _peculiar_ shriek. We wondered if you two girls were ok since we're gentlemen." Bakura said.

I resisted the urge to say that he was overestimating himself and said instead, "Well, if you mean that _girly_ shriek, it wasn't us. So stop trying to be a _gentleman_ Bakura."

Bakura grimaced and stuck his head back in the door. I could hear laughter from inside.

Atem looked toward Yugi. "What happened, Yugi?" he asked.

Yugi blinked once before plainly stating like it was no big deal, "Lemonie performed a spell that put us in the same tank as Jaws the shark."

Atem's eyes widened and began to object when Yugi just told him everything would be alright and shooed him off. It ended up being quite funny so I took a video of it to sell to Bakura later.

Marik was the only one that remained. "…Whose scream was that though?" was all he asked.

Aeron and I looked at the boys. Mokuba, Yugi, and Ryou shook their heads in saying it wasn't them. Joey, though, looked down sheepishly.

Giggling, I turned to Marik. "Does that answer your question?"

Biting his lip afterwards, Marik replied, "Yup."

He stuck his head back in the door. Again, laughter.

"Hey! You'd scream too if ya'd known ya were 'bouts ta die 'n a shark movie reference!" he yelled at the door.

Ryou put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Joey."

"Yeah, Joey," Aeron said, "you've been listening to mine and Erica's conversations for too long."

I snickered.

Lemonie tried again. This time, white chalk lines appeared. There was a circle drawn in the center. A big one. It kind of divided the platform we were on in two. In the middle of the circle was a hexagram (also known as the Star of David). Lines jutted out to the edges of the circle from the points of the six sided star.

Joey took a look at the drawing and blurted out, "Ay, couldn't we do dis ourselves?"

"Yes," Lemonie retorted, "but humans take too long and Lemonie really needs to get going on showing suspicious blond how to do spell so she can do it."

Joey said no more as Lemonie flew up to me and motioned me to follow her. I did so and ended up standing in the middle space of the hexagram.

"Sit down." Lemonie instructed. I did so.

"So," I asked, "how do we do this thing?"

* * *

"You'd scream too if ya'd known ya were 'bouts ta die in a shark movie reference!" came a muffled, angry, voice from the door.

"What's going on out there?" Tèa asked, worried.

"The little titch made a mistake in a spell and nearly killed the gullible idiots out there." Bakura answered.

"A pot shouldn't call a kettle black, Bakura." Tristan stated.

"What does kitchenware have to do with this?" the Thief King asked in reply.

The others who were stuck behind the door just shook their heads.

"You're an idiot." Atem told the white haired Yami.

"Ah, ah, ah." Bakura said to Atem, wagging his pointer finger. "You should be nice to me."

"Why?"

"Because, the girls sold me a picture that you might not want to get out."

"They already sold you that?"

"About a week ago actually, the day we came over with our pyramid. They printed it off the computer not a few days ago and gave it to me."

"So? Go ahead. I've done stupider… wait that came out wrong."

Everyone but Atem began to giggle, and, because of his protests, began to laugh.

* * *

Lemonie had just finished teaching me the spell when I heard laughter come from behind the door. Lemonie, my friends, and I turned to the door.

"Now, what's so funny?" Yugi stated. I shrugged.

"Ok. You five," Lemonie pointed to those standing next to the door, "keep a hold onto your pyramids tightly. Lemonie doesn't want to gather them up from the ground below in pieces."

Everyone took their pyramids out and held onto them.

"Why do we need these again (at the moment)?" Joey asked.

"Because, suspicious blond needs to use their power to locate their brothers. That is the only way to find Person. Person isn't stupid, she is smart, so Lemonie would be surprised if Person didn't have the other two pyramids by now."

"I feel like a monk meditating." I thought aloud.

Lemonie turned to me. "Ok. Just do what Lemonie said, and suspicious blond can start."

Gulping, I closed my eyes. I was facing toward Atlantis, which made me feel like… well a person from that one religion that has to face the city of Mecca to pray. I forget what it's called. I think it's Jewish. How I forgot, I'll never know. Facing this way gave my friends a side view of me. In truth, I'd rather have complete privacy for this but, hey, you don't always get what you want.

* * *

I focused on the darkness in front of my eyes and the darkness that lead to my soul room (apparently, soul rooms are common within everybody).

Once inside, I couldn't hear or see anything in the real world. Games and toys littered the ground at my feet and the walls with the hieroglyphics stared at me.

The white door with the blue orbs was still there. I walked over to it and opened it. Sauntering inside, I headed to the golden daisy print on the wall. The silks on the floor slid under my feet.

I placed my right hand on the center of the daisy and whispered, "Erakutsi Nire zuten."

The room began to shine with white light. I covered my eyes to keep it from blinding me. I, in truth, felt nothing happening. But, I knew there was.

* * *

"Did she start 'er whatchamacallit yet?" Joey asked.

"For the tenth time, Joey, I DON'T KNOW!" Yugi snapped.

"Alright! It was jus' a question! Don't have ta get snappy!"

Aeron sighed. She looked at her friend. _I hope Erica's alright over there._

The blond had been sitting there motionless and silent for a good five minutes now. Not a hum or twitch! It began to worry Aeron; she had no idea what this spell was going to do or what would happen. It freaked her out.

The next thing she heard was a warning from Mokuba. "Guys! Look at the pyramids!"

Everyone looked down at their pyramids (most of which were in their owners laps or on the ground in front or beside of their holders).

They were glowing.

* * *

Where was I? It looked like I was in the sky. Weird.

I looked down at myself, my hands. I was see through! What the heck!

I looked down below me. I was floating above what looked like a small-ish town. The concrete far below should've made me scared, but I guess the fact that I was see through kept me from being, well, scared.

"Here're the pyramids you wanted Margie."

My eyes widened. _What?_

I looked down again, but to my right this time. There was an alley there. Inside the alley were three teenagers and a purple haired woman.

The teenagers had given the purple haired something. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what it was. Two gemstone pyramids. One of Emerald and the other of Clinohumite (an orange gemstone).

"Margie?" the purple haired woman inquired. "Is that my nickname from you?" the adolescents nodded sheepishly. 'Margie' sighed. "I would rather my minions call me _Master_ or _Margherita_. Or _Master Margherita_." She then continued in a murmur. "Yes I like that one."

My eyes amplified in horror. _This_ was the Margherita we were to battle? She hardly looks that menacing. Although, I hadn't seen her angry yet.

"What now, Master Margherita?" one teenage girl said. She and what must have been her sister both had jet black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Well, Kara, we must now find the rest. There are five more." Margherita said.

"Where are they, so we may get them?" Kara's sister asked.

"I will have to fly you there. A few days' flight and then you'll be in reach. Remember though, you can only win the pyramids off of those stupid mortals." she looked pointedly at the third teenager, a dark-skinned boy. "You can not steal them."

The boy's hand shot up in the air.

"No, Logan, I already told you cannot keep them." Margherita deadpanned.

Logan put his hand back down and looked to the ground. "I thought maybe you forgot."

Margherita face-palmed.

"Margherita," Kara's sister said, "how do we win these pyramids off of our enemies?"

"You challenge them, Sara, to something." Margherita explained; she apparently wasn't in any hurry. "Anything really. As long as it's something you can win. You can use dice, cards, monopoly money, I really don't care. So long as you get those five pyramids."

Sara, Kara, and Logan nodded.

Margherita crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Oh, and one more thing. The seven pyramids together don't have enough power for what I plan to do. I also need 13 souls. Two for each of the first six, you see."

"What of the 7th pyramid?" Logan asked.

"The thirteenth soul that I need has to be a powerful one. It will be worth the two needed for the seventh and more… depending on the amount of sparks the soul has."

"Sparks?" the three minions said in unison.

"You mean you don't know what sparks are?" Margherita deadpanned.

The three shook their heads.

The villain looked as though she was resisting the urge to slap her forehead in disbelief. She sighed. "I'll explain it on the way."

The next and last thing I saw of the group was four crows flying off toward the East.

Bright light blinded me before I was sent hurling back to my body on top of KaibaCorp Tower.

* * *

I opened my eyes to see that I was back where I belonged, in my body and not floating above a random city like a ghost. I gasped at the sudden return. I also felt a bit light headed.

I heard collective shouts as Yugi, Aeron, Mokuba, Joey, and Ryou pelted towards me. They were all asking me what happened and if I was okay and things like that. Because of my swimming head, I couldn't make out one question from another.

"YO ONE QUESTION AT A TIME PLEASE!" I shouted, closing my eyes and holding my head with a hand.

A silence fell between my friends. Lemonie, who had just floated casually up by that time, asked what everyone seemed to want to know. "What did suspicious blond see?"

My waters that made my head swim calmed a bit. I opened my eyes and looked at Lemonie and the others. "Y'all ain't gonna believe this." I chuckled, letting the country accent I got from my dad's side of the family show.

* * *

**(1)- I'm using the English names so I just made them North. **


	26. New Revelations and What Not

**Oooooooh! We're getting to the good parts!**

**Bakura: Does that mean that this piece of crap is almost done?**

**Me: Why are you so mean! *runs off crying***

**Ryou: Again Bakura! Cant you be nice to her for once?**

**Bakura: The more i make her cry, the more time you get to spend with her. I'm helping you out Ry.**

**Ryou: One- STOP TRYING TO PAIR ME UP WITH HER! I dont like her that way! and two- If you're going to help me, cant you do it in a nicer way?**

**Bakura: ... Nope.**

**Ryou: THAT'S IT! I'm getting you banned from backstage!**

**Bakura: You can only do that if _she_ says you can. So, if you really want to i'd go calm your girlfriend down over there.**

**Ryou: NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! JEEZ!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 26**_

_**New Revelations and What Not**_

"Y'all ain't gonna believe this."

Everyone was standing around me. And by everyone, I mean Aeron, Yugi, Mokuba, Joey, and Ryou. I was sitting on the concrete floor that was the roof of KaibaCorp. In truth, I felt a bit dizzy.

I heard a creak from the direction of the door. I took it that everyone else did too since six heads plus Lemonie's turned toward the door.

The door was cracked open. The others who were inside were apparently trying to eavesdrop.

"Guys, you can come out now. You don't have to try to spy now." Yugi called over to the door.

The door opened all the way and out stepped Atem, Bakura, Kaiba, Téa, Marik, Duke, and Tristan.

"So what happened?" Atem and Bakura asked at the same time. They looked at each other and scowled.

"I think we should get in a more comfortable place to talk about this. It's getting awfully chilly up here." Yugi suggested. We agreed.

So did Joey's stomach.

"Was that a bear?" Marik asked, fully aware that it was Joey's stomach.

"It needs _FOOD_!" Joey whined.

Kaiba looked at his watch. "It's 12 'til three. No wonder the mutt's stomach is angry. We all missed lunch."

"AIN'T A DOG, RICH BOY!"

"Our house is closest, we could go there." Mokuba chirped. He looked at his brother. "Is that all right Seto?"

His brother nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and it's big enough to hold us all." Yugi said, then added in a mutter, "And probably a lot more comfortable than those office chairs."

I silently agreed.

"We better get going before the mutt's stomach yells at us again." Kaiba spun on his heel and headed in the direction of the door that lead off the roof.

**(Ryou: There you go! That's correct! Me: *glares* You interrupted my story for that? Erica: Technically, it's my story. Me: What the-? Get out! Both of you!)**

"_AIN'T A DOG_!"

Everyone began to follow Kaiba. I stood up to tail along, but a wave of dizziness came over me and the world began to spin.

"Whoa!" I said, wobbling a bit before falling back down on my butt.

Aeron and Yugi ran over and knelt next to me on either of my sides. Aeron on my left and Yugi on my right.

"Lemonie, what's wrong with her?" Aeron asked.

"Dizziness is common for first time spell-casters." Lemonie explained. "It might last a little while."

A little while was right. I didn't think the world would stop spinning anytime soon.

**(Bakura: If it did, then the world would be at its end. Me: Oh, not you too! You know what I mean! Now get out! Jeez, I locks on these things.)**

"Can you walk any, Erica?" Yugi asked me.

In reply, I simply commented to Aeron, "Now I know how you feel after we get off the Twister ride at the Carnival, Aeron."

"I'll take that as a no. Hey, guys, wait up!" Everyone stopped walking at Yugi's call. Most were already in the door.

"What is it, Yugi?" Marik inquired.

"Erica's too dizzy; she can't walk."

Everything began to spin way to fast for my liking. I was only able to see color splotches at this point, so I could obviously only hear was being said. I didn't really _see_ anything.

"Hm. Hold on." I heard Joey say. Next thing I knew I was lifted off the ground by two strong arms and, well, thrown over somebody's shoulder like a pack.

"Eh?" It took me a few seconds to comprehend what had happened. By the time I did, I felt my carrier going down a staircase. "Wait a minute. Joey put me down!"

"No. You 'parently can't walk, so I'm carryin' ya." Said blond splotch replied casually.

"Could you at least carry me in a _respectable_ way- other than like a POTATO SACK!"

"Nope. Would ya really rather me carry ya in bridal-style? Wouldn't it be embarrassin'?"

"Well, since I can only see in color splotches, not really."

Behind me and Joey, I heard Aeron request of Lemonie, "Please tell me she'll be alright."

"Oh, suspicious blond will be ok," Lemonie retorted, "she'll just be really dizzy for a while."

"Do you think if she dozed off for a while she'll feel better?" Yugi was there behind us too.

"Considering I'm not tired and my dreams would probably be spinning so fast they'll be blurry too, I don't think so." I answered.

There was silence for a while as we walked. We soon were outside; I could feel the cold air on my skin.

A bitter breeze blew past. You know, I'm glad that I wore one my new outfits today. My skirt would have been blowing in this wind… that would be embarrassing, considering the position I'm in.

I was wearing dark purple pants that were made of a material that had a texture to it that was soft and felt cool to rub (not that I was going to tell anyone that at the moment, considering my backside was sorta in the air, and, while I trust them, these boys might get something in there head… especially Bakura), a lilac, long sleeved shirt that was a bit fuzzy and had a picture of a yellow baby chicken (that was also fuzzy) on it, and white sneakers. I was definitely going through a phase where I like to wear headbands; it was a dark plum with a teeny-tiny, yellow, fuzzy chick standing on it as a decoration.

Chickies are cute!

I sensed a cold aura radiating from the brown, black, and red blotch behind me- well, in front of _me_, behind _Joey_.

Aeron. She was mad. _I_ knew why.

I inwardly smirked a smirk Bakura would be proud of.

"Why are you frowning Aeron?" I asked innocently.

"Huh? I'm not-" Aeron began, trying to cover up the fact that she _was_.

"Yes you are. I can feel that you are."

"Why are frowning, Aeron?" Yugi asked.

"I wasn't frowning!" Aeron denied.

"Yes you were." I said.

"Okay, I was. I was worried about you dizziness, okay."

"Oh, c'mon. That's sweet 'n all, but tell us the real reason why."

"A-ano," Aeron was nervous. I could feel it. I didn't really want her-want her to feel this amount of nervousness, but she had to admit her love for Joey-kun one day… that day being soon. She might never get this chance again.

The next thing I knew, my transporter stopped.

"Joey, why have we stopped?" I asked said carrier.

"We're waiting on Mokuba." He answered.

"Why?"

We began to move again. I just guessed that the boy was tying his shoe or something.

Although, my guess could be proved wrong when I was removed from Joey's shoulder and set down on a soft surface.

"O.k. Now, where am I?" I asked to no one in particular.

I felt someone sit down next to me… and another one on the other side.

"We are in Kaiba's living room." I heard Aeron say to me on my left.

"Really? That was a bit fast."

"We took a short cut." Yugi said; he was on my right.

"Do you two always have to be right next to me?" I asked said two.

There was a short pause. Then I heard the two simultaneously answer, "Yes."

I sweatdropped.

"I'll get us some snacks," Mokuba said not two minutes later. He must've left because he said nothing afterward until ten long, silent minutes later he came back and there was a clatter of a tin tray being put… well, my guess is a coffee table. There was a huge, brown splotch in the middle of the teal splotch that I took to be the carpet.

… I hate seeing in only splotches. It's hard to describe things!

"Ooh, sammidge!" I heard Aeron mutter excitedly.

I just sat there. I probably would've had a sandwich if I could see the tray. Nyeh.

"Why don't you have a sammidge, Erica?" Aeron asked me.

"One," I said, "it's sa_ndwich_. Two, I can't see 'em. Ya know, I swear I hate seeing in color splotches. It's _so_ annoying!"

"Here we go." Aeron muttered, but I ignored her.

"Am I going to have to live with this the rest of my life? How will I explain this to my teacher when we go back home? 'Yes, sorry, Mr. Eglantine, I couldn't do my math homework because I went to the land of my favorite TV show, did a spell, and now I can only see in color splotches!'"

"Are you about done?"

"No. Now back to my rant. I- OW!" I rubbed the back of my head where Aeron hit it. "What was that for?"

"Erica," Aeron said matter-of-factly, "nobody wants to hear you rant."

I looked over to her and stuck my tongue out at her. Then I realized something. I could see her. I looked around me to make sure it was true and not an illusion or something.

"Hey! I can see!" I shouted. I embraced Aeron in a bone-shattering hug. "Thank you, Aeron-chan!"

"Uh… yeah… just like I planned. Now, can Erica-chan let go of Aeron-chan? You're breaking her ribs!"

"Oh! Sorry." I let go of Aeron and said hazel-eyed brunette took a deep intake of breath and let it out.

"It's ok." Aeron said. "Now get a sammidge before either I or Joey eat them all."

"Yes, ma'am!" I saluted and reached to grab a sandwich. My hand touched someone else's and I looked up to see who it was.

Mokuba jerked his hand away. His face flushed a light red.

"Sorry." I said casually with a smile.

"I-it's o-okay." He replied.

_Seriously, why is that kid's face so red all the time?_ I thought as I took a sandwich and bit into it. It was awfully good. A chicken sandwich with tomato, pickle, lettuce, ranch, and honey-mustard. Really good.

**(Somebody try it! I wanna know if it really is good! Bakura: What is wrong with you? Me: Shut up fluffy!)**

"Mokuba," Kaiba asked his little brother, each word had obvious concern in it, "why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"

"Who me? Oh, I'm fine!" Mokuba laughed nervously.

I looked at him in concern. His eyes were darting around the room for some reason. Our eyes met and his face got a shade darker. He suddenly found the carpet interesting and began staring at that.

…Wha?

Aeron muttered something next to me. I guess it was a light-hearted comment about Mokuba's behavior.

_What's up with him? _

Lemonie, who was "lying" in the air, announced, "Now that everyone is comfortable, Lemonie thinks suspicious blond should share what happened."

"Oh, yes, that." I said, laying my half eaten sandwich in my lap. "Well…" I began, but I was cut off.

…By my phone.

_Brooklyn Rage_ began to play. Everyone other than Yugi, Atem, and Aeron looked around in surprise. Yugi shook his head and Atem face-palmed. Aeron looked at me with an "Again?" look.

I growled like an angry raccoon. Then I shouted like Mr. Eglantine, my math teacher if you can't remember. "WHY CAN'T THIS THING STAY OFF WHEN I TURN IT OFF!"

Everyone looked at me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I checked the caller ID. My face paled.

"Who is it?" Aeron asked.

"Mom and Dad." I said lowly. I looked at Aeron and spazzed out. "What do I do?"

"Just answer it and make up something! And go out there!" Aeron pushed me off the couch and out into the hallway.

I was now standing in Kaiba's hallway. Mokuba said this was his _house_. IT WAS HUGE!

But, I can't go into detail. Phone to answer.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, honey! How's it going?" _Dad answered.

"Fine! Just great!" I faked a cheerful tone.

"_So what's going on? Anything cool happening?"_

"Not really. Just the usual."

"_How's school? Any hot dudes ask you out yet?" _I sweatdropped. Dad trying to be cool again. Yuck.

"No, Dad. I'm still single. And school's school."

"_So what are you learning in school?" _Seriously, can't he just get to the point on why he called?

Wait a minute. What _are_ we learning in school?

"What subject?" I asked, stalling for time to think up something.

"_Hm… let's go with Health."_

Dang it! Always with the hard ones!

"Um… sexual reproduction?" I just said the first thing that came to mind.

"_Erica, that's Science."_

"Same thing!"

In the background, I heard Mom yell at Dad, _"Oh, give me the phone! You're taking too long!"_

Thank you Mom.

"_Hi, sweetie! Just wanted to tell you we're heading home from Peru early."_

"Early?" _Oh, no._

"_Yes. The tournament is being held off for some reason about an ancient curse or something. So, see you when we get home, 'Kay!"_

"No you won't." _Stupid! Why'd you say that? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

"_How come?"_

"Ano… school field trip."

"_Field trip?"_

"Yeah, we're on a field trip. Aeron's aunt signed our permission slips."

"_Really? Where?"_

"Uh… Canada! Yes, Canada! We'll be in… Laurentin, Canada."

"_Where's that?"_

"Quebec."

"_Oh. Well, how long will you be gone?"_

"Couple weeks, a month… depending how much there is to learn… we'll be back by the end of February, surely."

"_Well, alright. Have fun!"_

"I will Mom."

"_We love you!"_

"Love you too."

"_Bye!"_

"Bye." I pressed the _end call _button and snapped my phone shut.

* * *

"Ugh. I'm so full!" Joey whined, a hand resting on his stomach as he lounged on Kaiba's second couch.

"You ate roughly two-thirds of the sandwiches made, mutt. Actually, considering the _way_ you ate, you more of _swallowed_ than _ate_." Kaiba scoffed.

Joey growled like a dog, and then proceeded with a comment that he was indeed not a canine. He is such an oxymoron.

**(Joey: What'd you call me? Me: *sigh* I give up.)**

_Anyway_, Mokuba kept staring at the closed door in which Erica had left. Ryou seemed to be the only one who noticed this.

"Why are you staring at the door, Mokuba?" he asked the black-haired boy.

Mokuba flushed a slight red and jerked his gaze back to the carpet. "Uh… n-no reason." He answered meekly.

Joey saw _this _and smirked. "I think someone's got a cru-ush." He sang.

Mokuba's face grew even redder at this and he lowered his head to where you could barely see his eyes behind his bangs. "D-do not!"

"On who, Mokuba?" Yugi asked.

"I don't have a crush on anyone!" Mokuba was close to yelling.

"I think you do." Joey said.

"Do not!" Mokuba exasperatedly said.

"Leave my brother alone, mutt." Kaiba told Joey.

_Thank you, Seto._ Mokuba thought.

"Even if he has a crush."

"What?" Mokuba looked at his brother in surprise.

"Mokuba, it's completely obvious you have one."

"I do not have a crush!" Mokuba wailed.

* * *

I opened the living room door to enter said living room. The first thing I heard was a wail. Not the entire wail. In fact, I didn't understand what the wail was wailing about.

I saw Joey chuckling over in his seat and Kaiba shaking his head.

"What's going on?" I asked.

I saw Mokuba blush and look back down to the carpet.

"Mokuba, are you o.k.?" I asked him. I was really getting worried about him. Did he have a fever or something?

"Oh he's fine." Joey said. "Great actually. Probably feeling awesome."

I blinked. "Wha?"

Aeron sighed. "Just forget it. What'd Mom and Dad want?"

"Well," I said, "they wanted to say that they were coming home early."

"What?" Aeron paled visually.

"They said they were-"

"I heard what you said. Why though?"

"Something about a curse or something. I don't know."

"Please tell me you didn't say that we weren't home right now and probably wouldn't be for a while."

"Well… I did."

"What?"

"I said we were on an overnight fieldtrip that might last a month. However long we're gone really."

"Oh that's good."

"We're in Canada."

"…Canada?"

"I COULDN'T THINK OF ANYTHING O.K.!"

"Calm down! Was that all?"

"Dad was trying to be cool."

"Okaay. Yuck. Anything else?"

"He now thinks we're learning about sexual reproduction in Health."

The room grew silent. I can tell that most of the others- Joey, Bakura, Tristan, and Duke being a few- were trying to keep themselves from laughing. The shyer and/or quieter of the group- Yugi and Ryou being the main- blushed.

"That's science." Kaiba said.

"Whatever!" I retorted.

"Lemonie thinks that humans should stop babbling nonsense and get on with main dialogue!" Lemonie suggested/demanded.

"Alright." I walked over and sat in the spot where I was before my parents called.

"So, what was it you saw, Erica?" Ryou asked.

I crossed my legs-Indian style- in my seat and began my tale.

* * *

"Three teenagers are her minions?" Joey inquired. "And two of them are girls?"

"What's wrong with that?" Tèa snarled, completely out of character.

"Nothing!" Joey said faster than he should've. I sighed and ignored that.

"Yes. As far as I know, the two are twins named Kara and Sara. The third, the boy, is named Logan. Logan seems to be a thief. Margherita had to warn him that he couldn't steal our pyramids… and tell him that he couldn't have them." I said to answer Joey's question.

"I think I like Logan already." Bakura stated. Everyone glared at him. "What? What did I say?"

Yugi shook his head at the thief's ignorance and looked at me. "So, they are planning on stealing ours now?"

"They're on their way." I answered.

There was a surprised silence in the room. Some looked at others in shock. Others widened their eyes in the same state of alarm. I just looked at my lap. It was all going to begin soon. Was I even ready for it?

I was startled out of my thoughts when Yugi spoke again. "How long before they're here?"

"A few days." I replied.

The room was silent again. That is, until Joey stood up from his seat and stretched. "Well," he said while stretching, "I think it's time for all o' us ta go home an' start practicin' our duelin'! If there gonna be here 'n a few days."

"I don't think it's just going to be Duel Monsters Joey." I hated breaking people's bubbles at times, but Joey had to know.

"Wha?" Joey… um… sounded.

I sighed. "Margherita said that she didn't care _how_ her minions got our pyramids, as long as they _won_ them off of us. Sure Duel Monsters is something big in this world, but how do you know that her minions know how to play Duel Monsters? How do you know that will be the game of their choice?" Joey just gave me a blank stare. I sighed again. "Meaning, we could be challenged to anything. So don't start getting cocky."

"Burst my bubble, why don't'cha?" Joey mumbled and sat back down.

I rolled my eyes and turned to Lemonie. "By the way, Lemonie, I was just wondering, what are _sparks_?"

Lemonie pulled herself into a sitting position. "Sparks?"

"Yeah, sparks. Margherita mentioned something about sparks when she was telling her minions about how many souls they needed to collect for the pyramids to work with the spell she's planning to use." I answered.

"Oh! Suspicious blond means Soul Sparks!" Lemonie chirped.

"Soul Sparks?"

"Yes, Soul Sparks. Soul Sparks are like the… rating for souls. Soul Sparks go on a scale from 1-35. If a soul has 1-15 sparks, the soul is weak. If a soul has 16-25 sparks, it is strong. If a soul has 26-35 sparks, it is powerful. A soul can also gain or lose sparks."

"Oh, cool!"

"Why, though, would this matter?" Atem asked.

"Because," Lemonie explained, "the Seven Jewel Pyramids need souls to power them. The souls aren't what powers them, though. It is the sparks. For the spell Lemonie thinks Person will use, Person will need a power level of Fire."

"Fire?"

Lemonie sighed. "How little humans know. There are three power levels for the pyramids. Spark, Ember, and Fire. Spark being the lowest and Fire being the highest. Different spells used with the pyramids need different power levels. The spell Person will probably use will need a power level of Fire."

We gave her a blank stare. That successfully let Lemonie know we needed more of an explanation. She sighed yet again. "The power level of Spark needs 0-100 Soul Sparks. The power level of Ember needs 101-201 Soul Sparks. The power level of Fire needs 202-252 Soul Sparks."

There was a collective "Ooooooooooh" that sounded in the room.

Lemonie face-palmed.

"Would I be in the strong or powerful group?" Tristan muttered to himself.

"How d'ya know yer in them groups, Tristan? Yer prob'ly in da weak groupin'. I, though, am definitely in powerful!" Joey responded.

Lemonie fell from her spot in the air and I caught her. "Mutt and friend are idiots." She groaned. I laughed and put her on my shoulder.

Lemonie sat up and grabbed some of my hair to keep herself from falling off.

Joey and Tristan bickered for a while before Yugi stood up and announced- "Well, I think it's time we all went home and prepare ourselves for whatever it is we need to be ready for in a few days."

Joey and Tristan stopped squabbling and agreed.

With that, everyone other than the Kaiba brothers stood up and left for the door. Mokuba stood at the door waving after us and I shouted back a last goodbye.

"See ya Mokie!" after that, I turned and ran to catch up with the others.

* * *

"Would you stop calling him Mokie?" Aeron asked me when I caught up.

"Why?" I queried.

Joey chuckled. "It might have a different effect on him than ya think."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

* * *

The group had just gotten into the larger part of town, close to where Yugi's place was. Marik, Tèa, Ryou, and Bakura had already separated from the group to go to their respective housings- Marik's being his hotel. Joey, Tristan, Duke, Atem, Yugi, Erica, and Aeron were left.

Lemonie had dozed off on Erica's shoulder while the blond was speaking to her friend about her fan club. It was painfully obvious that Aeron wasn't listening though. Erica didn't seem to mind however.

Joey was bickering with Tristan about the Soul Spark thing again. But this time Atem and Duke joined in.

This left Yugi alone to his thoughts.

_I wonder what will happen when it is time for us to battle. Erica said that Margherita was also planning on collecting souls for the spell. Now, if I remember correctly, Erica said that Margherita needed 13 souls when she was telling us what she saw. If 13 it be, does that mean we all are going to be captured? Or will the amount of Soul Sparks we each have change that?_

Yugi looked over to Erica. To him, she couldn't look more like a kid. Smiling and laughing away while her friend was in Joey-land.

_She's only thirteen. Why she was picked to deal with this now at her age is beyond me. _

Sure he was only sixteen when he had to deal with his problems, but that's a three year difference. He had a bit longer to be a normal kid before he had to grow up and accept destiny. She didn't.

While he was looking at his younger friend, he noticed something he hadn't before. The Millennium Puzzle she had dangling around her neck was hung by a shoestring.

_That has to be rubbing her neck raw._

The group was just passing a store when something in the shop window caught his eye.

_$213._ He thought sadly._ Wait a sec. Gramps gave me a credit card for Christmas. _

After contemplating the pros and cons of buying the item, he finally decided he would just pay Grandpa back later (in one way or another). With that, he slipped into the store and bought the article without his friends noticing.

* * *

For ten minutes now, Yugi had been missing. I had notified the others about six minutes ago and we had waited by the street corner for him. I was beginning to get worried.

"Hey, Aeron?" Joey questioned.

"Huh?" Did I detect a hint of pink brushing her cheeks and nose? I giggled inwardly.

"How come ya always wear black and red?"

"What?" That blush is getting darker.

"Yer clothes. Why are they always black 'n red?"

"Oh," Aeron muttered as she looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a red shirt with a black heart on it that had wings, an arrow through it, and it was on fire (not literally, just it was supposed to look like that); a black jacket; and black pants. She also wore red converse shoes.

"Well, how come?"

"I'm not Goth or anything!"

I face-palmed. Joey chuckled. "I didn't say dat." he said.

"I-I know that. I was just making sure you knew." Aeron chirped lamely.

"Aeron, just tell him why?" I groaned exasperatedly.

"I always wear black and red because it's the colors of my favorite Duel Monster."

"Really? Which one's dat?" Joey asked.

"The Red Eyes Black Dragon."

"Really! Dat's my favorite monster too!"

_Maybe I should tell him why it is her favorite monster._ I looked at the two chatting away happily. _Or maybe not._

Joey went back to yakking with Tristan, Duke, and Atem, and Aeron leaned over to me. "Joey noticed the color of my clothes!" she squeaked lowly so Joey wouldn't hear how scarily similar she sounded like a love-struck fangirl.

"Yes, I heard." I replied.

"Awesome, isn't it?"

"Sure." I agreed. I really couldn't care less, but she was happy. And if it got that creepy smile off her face…

I noticed something. Aeron was busy being a fangirl and the boys were casually talking away. **Was I the only one worried about **_**Yugi**_**?**

Looking at my friends, who looked as if they don't give a care, I thought:_ I'll take that as a yes._

I looked around the corner to see if he had caught up yet. He wasn't there.

"Don't worry, Erica." Atem told me. I turned to look at him. "I can sense if he's in danger. He's perfectly fine." He tapped his head for emphasis. I nodded in saying I understood, but that didn't stop my worrying. Ten minutes is a long time to disappear.

Just a second later, we saw Yugi running up to us.

"See, Erica, I told you." Atem said. "He's perfectly fine, slightly out of breath, but fine."

"Where'd ya go Yoog?" Joey asked.

"I, uh, dropped something." Yugi answered. "Had to go back and get it."

"Alright." Tristan said. "I think it's time I take my leave." He pointed in what was a random direction to me. "My house is that way."

"Yeah," Duke added, "same here."

The two started walking toward their respective homes. Before they were out of earshot, they turned and called back in unison: "See ya!"

We waved our goodbyes and headed toward the Game shop once more. Joey apparently thought he lived there too.

* * *

We entered the Game shop not long after, and Joey headed straight for the kitchen.

"Time for a snack!" he announced.

"Joey, we just ate!" Yugi argued. I began to giggle.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry again."

"Alright, but, Joey, shouldn't you be going home?"

"I am home."

"No you're not!"

"Technically, I am."

"Fine, you can stay here for _one night_!" Yugi had already taken off his coat and headed toward the kitchen while he was arguing with Joey. Atem took off his jacket and followed Yugi.

My giggling had turned into full blown laughter.

"Joey's staying here!" Aeron said excitedly.

"Apparently so. But don't get excited. I don't think Yugi will let him sleep with you." I said.

Aeron blushed a dark red. I really meant that in the innocent way, but I knew that comment would get to her!

Aeron growled. "You are so dead."

"You gotta catch me first!" I said cheerily and took off running.

* * *

**Yugi: What did i buy in the store?**

**Me: You and the readers will find out soon!**

**Yugi: Can i have a hint?**

**Me: No.**

**Yugi: Please?**

**Me: No.**

**Yugi: Pleasey-please?**

**Me: No!**

**Yugi: PLEASEY-PLEASEY-PLEASE!**

**Me: FINE! here's your hint: It's from a store.**

**Yugi: That doesnt help at all.**

**Me: Take it or leave it.**


	27. Preparing for Destiny

**Wooo! 27! **

**Sorry for story and chapter length. **

**This chapter shows how the group prepares for battle!**

**Ryou: We didnt prepare tho...**

**Me: I know...**

**This chapter is dedicated to _earthluva_ for the great ideas and for being a great chatting buddy for a while!**

**See y'all at the bottom!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 27**_

_**Preparing for Destiny**_

_**[AKA: The Super-Special-Awesome Reveal]**_

**(Yugi: Reveal? For what? **

**Me: Oh, you'll see. *laughs evilly* **

**Ryou: Why do I get the feeling we're all going to be mentally scarred for life?)**

* * *

I should have been preparing. I should have been practicing something that could help… but I wasn't.

I was on Yugi's laptop. I found that it can actually hook up my internet back home. Meaning Youtube, YGO Abridged, Fanfiction, and everything else was at my disposal. Cue evil laugh here.

I really don't know how it can do that. All Yugi did was hook a golden cable up to the wall and, when I asked what it was, he gave me a wink and said: "Take a wild guess." Then he left!

After he did so, I studied the cable for a good five minutes. It had little eyes on it that looked like the ones on the pyramids and the puzzle. That was when I came to my conclusion. Millennium Connector Cable. The eighth Millennium Item.

When I said this to Aeron, though, she laughed. A lot. I also heard laughter outside the living room. Yugi, Joey, and Atem were apparently eavesdropping.

"Well, what else can it be? You told me to guess, and I did!" I yelled at the door.

**(Those of you reading, The Millennium Connector Cable is not what Yugi bought. Yugi: It's not? Then what did I buy? Me: All in good time my little friend! Yugi: Not little!)**

We now come to the present…

**(Atem: As opposed to ten minutes ago? Me: Jeez people! Let me write!)**

… Where I am playing on Yugi's laptop, Aeron is lounging on the sofa, Joey and Yugi are playing Duel Monsters, and Atem is watching the two.

"YES!" I shouted. This made everybody jump.

"What is it, Erica?" Yugi asked after getting over his shock.

"I got a new text ringtone!" I announced happily.

"What is it?" Aeron inquired.

I chuckled like an insane person. "Take a listen!" I then played my new ringtone.

Just before the song started, I heard Joey mutter, "Erica is scaring me.", and Yugi reply, "She's just happy." But I ignored them.

_Bakura! I know how we're going to defeat the Pharaoh once and for all!_

_Let me guess, we're going to challenge him to a children's card game._

_No! We're going to steal from him the source of his power! And then we will use it against him!_

_His Millennium Puzzle?_

_Foolish fool! The puzzle is not the source of his power! His power comes from… his leather pants!_

_Seriously?_

_Yes. Come, Bakura, let us attain his leather pants!_

_I guess I have nothing better to do today._

_Ho-whoa-whoa- oa-oa-oa-oa-oa!_

_Let's take his leather pants! __**(x2)**_

_Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!_

_Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!_

_La-la-la-la-la!_

_We want his leather pants…_

I pretty much played the whole song of Leather Pants, the YGO Abridged parody of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. I danced and sang along.

Aeron laughed through the whole thing. "I should've known!" she yelled during her laughter.

Joey and Atem just stared at me and blinked. They were probably thinking how insane I was.

Yugi face-palmed. "I don't think I should ask."

After the song ended, I was out of breath and collapsed on the loveseat. "Woo-hoo!" I yelled.

I then noticed the three boys staring at me. "What?"

"Marik… and Bakura… want my pants?" Atem clarified.

"Yup."

"That… is quite disturbing."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang. "Living room!" Yugi called out.

In walked Ryou, Bakura, and Marik. Atem scooted a bit farther away from the door.

"What's the matter, Pharaoh?" Bakura taunted, he obviously seen Atem's scootch. "Afraid we got cooties?"

Yugi answered for his Yami. "No, but he is scared."

"Yugi, don't." Atem pleaded.

"Too bad. This is payback for all the times you read my thoughts since you came back." Yugi retorted. He then turned back to Bakura. "He's scared you and Marik will steal his pants."

Bakura, Marik, and Ryou just blinked for a minute. Then they burst out laughing.

"What?" Marik asked while laughing. "Where'd that come from?"

"Um…" Yugi racked his brain for an answer. Then he looked like he had a thought. "Erica, can I see your phone?"

"Sure." I said, giving my phone.

"Erica got a new text ringtone on her phone. This is it." he explained and showed them my ringtone.

About half way through, Ryou was at nonstop laughter. We had to tell him to breath like thirty times. Marik and Bakura's eyes were twitching. And at the end Marik spazzed out.

"So _that's_ how you guys would react to YGO Abridged." I muttered.

After the song ended, Yugi closed my phone and handed it back to me.

"Here you go." He said.

"Thank you." I replied, taking the phone.

Once Bakura was able to calm Marik down and get Ryou to stop laughing, **(Atem: I can't imagine him doing that without nearly killing anyone. Me: *growls dangerously*) **Joey found it the perfect opportunity to ask why the three were here. "Say, why're you guys here?"

"We're here…" Ryou tried to explain, but he had to pause to breathe every now and then, since he laughed so hard not long before. "… Because we… we're on our way to Kaiba's."

"Why were you heading to Kaiba's, and how is that a reason for you being here?" Atem asked.

"You see," Marik elucidated, "I was hanging out at Ryou's house and Mokuba called. He said that he and Kaiba (mostly Mokuba, though) had the idea of preparing together today. It would make more sense… when you think about it. We are on the same side. Why not practice together?"

"Sounds good." Yugi said. "Let me guess, you came to pick us up."

"Yup." Said the two brits and the Egyptian.

With that, the four of us that ACTUALLY lived in the Motto household and Joey followed Ryou, Marik, and Bakura out of the house and to the Kaiba Mansion.

* * *

We had been walking for some time, we were almost half way to our destination, and had been silent for most of the walk. That is, until Joey began to think.

"Ya know," he said, "I don't think Mokuba invited us over fer preparin'."

Ryou seemed to get interested. "Oh? What then?"

"I think the lil' Kaiba just wanted ta see someone here again."

"Who?" I asked. Everyone looked at me like I was supposed to know something. "What?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Ryou asked.

"Noticed what?"

"Never mind it, Erica." Aeron said.

"Never mind _what_?"

* * *

When we got to the mansion, we found that everyone, other than us eight that were late, already there. Kaiba was sitting in his recliner typing on his laptop. Mokuba was sitting in the floor playing a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters with Duke. Tèa was watching the two, and Tristan was asleep on one couch.

Mokuba, Tèa, and Duke looked up from the game, and Mokuba smiled. "Hi!" he greeted.

"Hey!" Yugi replied. "So, is this how we're preparing?"

"Oh, no. We're waiting for Tristan to wake up."

"Oh."

A loud snore erupted from the sleeping brunette.

And, of course, Aeron had to comment. "He snores louder than you do when you have a cold, Erica!"

I blinked once and looked at Aeron with a deadpan expression. "Aeron, do you want a hug?"

"I KNEW IT! YOU'RE IN LEAGUE WITH MELVIN!" Aeron hid behind Joey, much to the blonde's confusion.

"Wish I was sometimes." I deadpanned, shaking my head at her antics. "Does it look like I have the Millennium Rod, Aeron?"

"No."

"Then how can I give you a Melvin hug?"

"You might have a knife."

"… Aeron, really?"

"Okay… maybe I'm just paranoid."

"Yea, I think that's more accurate."

"… Meanie."

"Yes, I know."

Bakura muttered something about "moronic idiots" and stalked over to the couch Tristan wasn't hogging. In my mind, I glared daggers made of licorice and chocolate at him. Then realized what I was thinking about and made the little Erica in my head eat the daggers.

… Ra, I think my brain is rotting. I sound like I'm from one of those Fanfics that are just random. You know, the ones with no plot at all… or story… they're just a bunch of arbitrary words and sentences strung together to make a strange sounding story-like thing? Yeah, they're out there. Some are actually quite good too!

"Aeron, could ya get out from behind me? …And let go o' my shirt?" Joey asked. Aeron blushed and paced over and stood next to me.

The seven of us left standing broke apart and sat (or laid) in our own areas… sort of.

Ryou sat next to Bakura on the couch; Marik sat next to him; I sat down on the floor next to Duke and Mokuba to watch their game; Aeron sat next to me… so did Yugi… I swear, I can't go _anywhere_ without those two; Atem laid on his stomach next to Yugi; and Joey pulled a marker out of his pocket and began to draw on Tristan's face.

After a minute or so, Aeron piped up in a bored voice: "I bet Duke will win. Who do you think Erica?"

"I don't know." I drawled in a tone that equaled hers in boredom.

"Pick one." she replied.

"Um… Mokuba." I said. There was a slight pause before I added, "Mokuba, are you _sure_ you're not sick? You're face is getting red."

"Mokuba's thinking hard on a winning strategy." Yugi said, matter-of-factly. "Right, Mokuba?" he gave the raven haired boy a wink.

"Uh…r-right." Mokuba managed to squeak out.

"Well, it better be a good strategy, for Erica's sake." Aeron declared. "For, if you lose, Erica owes me ice-cream."

"Why would I owe you ice-cream?" I inquired in a confused monotone.

"Because we made a bet. Loser buys ice-cream for the winner."

"I bet on Duke!" Joey stated suddenly. I guess the thought of free ice-cream influenced him.

"Well I bet on Mokuba." Yugi said. "I'm sure he'll pull through."

* * *

Can you guess who ended up winning the bet? If you guessed not me or Yugi, you're right.

"ICE CREAM!" Joey and Aeron called out in unison.

"Quiet you two! You're going to wake up Tristan." Tèa reprimanded.

Aeron and Joey looked at each other before- "ICE CREAM!"

Tèa sighed.

Yugi looked at me. "They're close to exactly alike, aren't they?"

I chuckled. "Yup."

Yugi chuckled back. "Now wonder she likes him."

I blinked a moment before processing what he said. "You noticed?"

"How could I not? She wasn't that good at hiding it."

"_Thank you!_" I said. Finally somebody admitted they noticed.

"You know, you could just ask one of the maids in the hallway to buy the ice-cream." Mokuba stated.

"No!" Aeron said, bounding over. "They lost! _They_ have to buy the ice-cream!"

"Aeron. Calm down." I told her.

"Well, then, you could pay the maids to buy the ice-cream. Technically they're buying it if they do that." Mokuba decided.

All was silent for a moment. Then, Aeron piped up in her scary, hyper attitude- "Well, you two do it then!"

The next thing I know is Aeron dragging me off the ground and pushing me out the living room door. And I think Joey did the same to Yugi.

We both were now back in the large corridor. Walls and floor were made of marble. There was a red carpet running through the middle. Pictures and tapestries hung on the walls. Things that looked like the typical mansion décor.

"Do you even see a maid out here?" Yugi asked.

"Nope." I simply replied.

We then commenced to search the large building for one.

* * *

"I can't believe yer okay with Erica and Yugi searching for a maid alone, Mokuba." Joey said to said raven haired child.

"They're just looking for a maid to buy ice-cream." Mokuba replied.

"Yeah, but dis is a large place. They could get lost… alone… in a place where nobody could hear dem… anything could happen." Joey smirked at the reaction he got from Mokuba. The young Kaiba's face flushed a dark red. He also looked like he was about to jump up from his seat on the floor and run out there to find his crush.

"Mutt, stop teasing my little brother." Kaiba ordered, putting up his laptop. "Nothing going to take your little crush away, Mokuba. The mutt's just trying to push your buttons."

"I don't-!" Mokuba began.

"Mokuba," Tristan said, "face it, you have a major crush."

"Alright! I like her, okay!" Mokuba admitted, shouting it in defeat.

"There we go! Feels good to have that out, doesn't it?" Tèa said.

"Actually, it's embarrassing." Mokuba muttered.

"Get used to it, Mokuba. It's a feeling you'll get a lot from now on." Duke stated.

"Yeah, kinda went like dat with me and Mai." Joey said.

"Yeah, and we _all _know how that turned out." Tristan countered.

Aeron perked up at this. Tristan used sarcasm when talking about Joey's and Mai's relationship. What could he mean?

"What? What happened?" Aeron asked. She mentally cursed herself for her suddenness in asking the question and how forceful it sounded.

"Mai is now dating Valon." Tèa answered like it was no big deal.

_Awesome!_ Aeron thought. _I might have a chance!_ The little Aeron in her mind was making a face that looked like this- X3

"Awe, I'm sorry Joey." She lied. Mai was actually a character she didn't care much about. The whole Mai and Joey love-interest thing started that.

"It's alright. I just guess she wasn't da one." Joey replied, looking at Aeron.

_And you're looking at the one._ Aeron finished in her head. Well, that's what the daydream that popped up said.

"Aeron, you're beginning to drool." Atem said, laughing a little. Aeron was looking at the carpet. Literally beginning to drool.

Aeron popped out of her Joey-dream and clasped her hands over her mouth. Most of the occupants in the room began to laugh.

* * *

I slumped against the wall. I was tired from walking all over this building, and my feet hurt.

Yugi slid down next to me. He was obviously as tired as I was. "Are all the breaks on maids or something?" he complained.

I looked at him with an eyebrow arched. "Breaks on maids?"

"You know what I mean."

I giggled. "Yeah, I guess I do."

We sat there in silence for a moment. Yugi looked like he was about to fall asleep.

_Well, can't have that._ I thought. I reached over and shook his shoulder a bit.

"Ha-wa?" he sounded tiredly. Scratch looked, to, and everything in between, and changed fall to fell. If you don't understand, here's what that sentence should look like: _Yugi fell asleep._

I chortled. "Yugi, don't fall asleep on me now. We still have to buy ice-cream."

"Sorry." Yugi stifled a yawn and rubbed his left eye with his fist. "Tired."

"Yeah, me too." I agreed. "You know, it'll probably be faster to buy ice-cream ourselves. I could take _forever_ to find a maid in this blasted place."

"Yeah." Yugi said, nodding off again.

"Yugi!"

"I'm awake! I'm awake!"

"Good boy!" I said, patting his head… probably a bit more than I should have.

After a minute of me patting his head, Yugi asked, "Erica, what are you doing?"

"Trying to see if I can flatten your hair."

Yugi smiled. "You're not the first one."

"Really, who else?" I questioned, still patting Yugi's head.

"Well, let's see. Atem, Joey, Tristan, Grandpa, Rebe-"

"Okay! I get it!" I yelled jokingly. Yugi laughed.

I stood up and brushed myself off. Yugi groaned what sounded like a groan of tiredness and held out his hands. "Help me up?"

I blinked. "Lazy." I kidded.

"I'm lazy! I'm tired!" he defended.

I stuck out my hand to him. "Hello, Tired! I'm Erica!"

Yugi gave me a "That was lame" look but took my hand anyway. Instead of pulling him up, though, I shook it, still going on with my stupid joke.

Yugi sighed a half-hearted sigh. "Now, help me up."

"Lazy." I repeated and pulled him to his feet.

"Not lazy!"

"You keep telling yourself that." I said as he brushed himself off. "Now hurry up." I started to walk in a direction. "We need to hurry and buy the ice-cream since all the breaks are on maids." I smirked.

"Oh, come on!" Yugi complained as he rushed to catch up to me. I laughed.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to let me use your computer, Mokuba?" Aeron asked said Kaiba.

"Don't worry," Mokuba replied, "I can erase your progress when you're finished."

"Really?" Aeron inquired, surprised.

"Of course, I'm a Kaiba, I can do anything." Mokuba answered, slightly smug.

"I hope you're not going to use that line on Erica." Aeron said.

"Huh?"

"You say that to Erica, you'll get a slap in the face probably. Not so sure, I'm just guessing, but it does seem likely."

"What do you mean use on her?"

"You're gonna flirt with her, right?"

"Uhh… h-how do you flirt?"

Everyone, even Kaiba, sweatdropped at this statement made by the raven haired child.

This is what the situation looked like. Mokuba had gotten his laptop out for Aeron to play on since Erica and Yugi had been gone a while. She was now on his laptop while everyone else was chatting.

* * *

I was walking back to the Kaiba mansion with Yugi with my arms loaded with buckets of ice-cream. Neither of us knew what kind of ice-cream everyone wanted, so we just bought a bit of every flavor. They were all out of the bigger tubs so we had to settle for more than one small bucket.

"Yugi, why did the chicken cross the road?" I asked.

"I don't know. Why?" he replied.

"Because it wants some of our ice-cream." I answered seriously. Yugi laughed.

"No, I'm serious. Look behind us."

He did so.

There was a chicken following us.

"Okaaay… random." He said. I laughed this time.

"Say, why are we buying ice-cream in January? It's the middle of winter! It's freezing out here!" I said.

"Because Aeron and Joey are just alike and are hungry for ice-cream and wont take no for an answer." Yugi retorted. "But, how come it's so cold today? Remember yesterday on the KaibaCorp roof when we were talking about that spring-like day?"

"Yeah."

"Why _did _we have it?"

"I don't know. Let's ask Lemonie!"

"Great idea. Where is she anyway?"

"Ano… I think she's back home… I mean at your house." I corrected.

Yugi smiled at me and chuckled. "You can call my house home if you want." He said. "You do live there."

"For the time being." I said, looking at the buckets of ice-cream in my arms. "When all this is over, we'll be heading back home… I'm not sure when that will be though."

We walked in silence for a few minutes before Yugi said something a bit surprising.

"What if you don't get to go back to your universe? What if you're to stay here?" he said.

I was silent a bit. I wasn't sure on how to answer that. I guessed I would just stay here in this universe then. If I couldn't go back home, then what else could I do?

"I guess I just couldn't go back home then. I mean, if I can't, I can't. Right?" I replied.

"Wouldn't you get homesick?"

"Of course I would. I'm homesick now. But, I can't let that take over my life. I have things I _need_ to do here. Feeling homesick can wait."

Yugi was silent for another moment.

"Well, if you find out you can't go home after all this is over, you and Aeron are always welcome to stay at my house."

I looked at my friend. "Thanks Yugi, that means a lot. You're a great friend." I smiled. He smiled back.

In this heart-to-heart conversation, I forgot where I was walking and walked straight into a lamppost. My stuff flew everywhere and I fell back on my backside. "Ow! Lamppost hurt!"

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked, concerned. He knelt down beside me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said rubbing my nose.

Yugi sat his groceries down and began to gather up mine, most of which were rolling away.

"Yugi, I can get them, you don't have to…" I began, but Yugi cut me off.

"No, it's alright. I can get them."

I sighed and began to pick the others up. "It's my mess. At least let me help you."

"It's fine. I got them."

In this small argument- if you can call it one- we hadn't noticed how close we had gotten to each other, while picking the containers up, and, when we raised up, bumped our heads together.

"Ow!" in unison we yelped.

"Sorry." I said.

"It's okay." Yugi replied, rubbing his forehead.

We had all of the containers gathered except-

"We're missing one." I informed.

"Really?" Yugi inquired. "How do you know?"

"I remember buying _three_ Butter Pecan."

Yugi laughed. "Yeah, you've had your eyes on that Butter Pecan!"

"I like Butter Pecan!"

Just then, we saw that chicken that was following us log rolling the container down the sidewalk.

Yugi and I blinked. "What the-?"

I got up and began to chase the fast rolling chicken. "HEY! GIVE ME BACK MY ICE-CREAM YOU STUPID BIRD!"

Behind me, I heard Yugi laugh and follow me while I chased the evil, Butter Pecan stealing, poultry.

* * *

Yugi and I, worn out from the chasing of the evil, Butter Pecan stealing chicken and waling we did today, walked through the front door of the Kaiba Mansion.

The first thing Yugi noticed was the clock. "Have you noticed that we've been at this ice-cream thing for four hours?" he asked me.

"Really?" I asked, a bit shocked. "That long?"

"Yeah," Yugi motioned to the clock on the wall with his head, "we started looking for a maid at one and it's now five. Pretty much dinner time."

"I guess it's ice-cream for dinner, then!"

* * *

We knocked on the living room door, which happened to be closed.

"Come in!" we heard Aeron's voice call.

"Can you open the door for us? Our hands are kind of full!" I called back.

There was a shuffling sound on the other side of the door, and Aeron opened said door.

Yugi and I walked in. Just after we both were inside, the door slammed shut and Joey and Aeron called out: "ICE-CREAM!"

We were then attacked by a rabid Joey and Aeron. The attack lasted two seconds, but it left us with ragged, messed up hair, wrinkled clothing, confused/shocked faces, and our arms were still in the position they were in when they were holding the cargo.

The duo sat the containers on the coffee table in the middle of the room. I growled, stomped over, and grabbed up the container of Butter Pecan ice-cream that the chicken tried to steal. It was _my _prize, and _I _was planning to eat it.

"Would it kill ya to say please or thank you?" I snarled.

Aeron and Joey put their hands to their throats and made choking sounds while they fell to the floor.

"I'll take that as a yes." I stomped over to a place to sit in the floor and waited for Mokuba to come back, since he left to get spoons.

"Please, all the Mutt and the Stray know how to say is bark, woof, or arf. They are incapable of normal speak." Kaiba scoffed as he leaned over and grabbed a container of Vanilla ice-cream.

Aeron sat up on the floor. "_Stray_? Who's _Stray_?"

"You." the CEO replied.

Aeron spanned up into a standing position in one fluid motion… wow. "Who you callin' a _Stray_!" she demanded.

"I'll take it you're asking me why instead of what you just asked me a second ago. You, because I can't call you Mutt, because that has been taken. Dog or the scientific word for a female dog would be rude of me since you are a, somewhat, lady. Stray is the only thing that seems to suit, not just because of the qualities of the other words, but because you aren't from here." Kaiba explained nonchalantly.

"And why the sudden interest in calling _me_ a dog, Kaiba?" Aeron inquired angrily.

"You act just like Wheeler." Kaiba simply answered.

"Maybe that's a good thing!" Aeron fumed. Then she added, "And not a snobby, rude rich like you!"

"Yeah!" Joey stood up beside Aeron.

_Oh, great, a revolt._

Just then, Mokuba came in with the spoons. "What's going on?"

Aeron whipped around to face Mokuba. "Mokuba! Your brother's calling me a _stray_!" she whined.

I face-palmed. Kaiba smirked in amusement. Mokuba blinked.

"Is that your new nickname from him?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Sorry Aeron. There's nothing I can do. Once Seto makes his mind up, there's no changing it. Hey, _Stray_'s better than- excuse me- _Bitch_, right?"

Aeron's shoulders sagged. "I guess so." she muttered. She then sat down and quietly ate her ice-cream, after Mokuba handed out the spoons.

* * *

A few minutes passed and Tristan finally woke up. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked groggily. "How long have I been asleep?"

"It's five o'clock now." Marik informed him. "You tell me."

"Oh…"

I looked over at Tristan and saw Joey's handiwork. I stifled a laugh. "Nice artwork, Joey." I said.

"Thanks!" said blond replied with a hunk of Strawberry ice-cream in his mouth.

"What artwork?" Tristan asked. He reached over and grabbed a spoon and a container of Chocolate ice-cream from the coffee table.

"Check your face, Tristan." Duke said, eating his Mint ice-cream.

"Huh?"

With a sigh, Tèa handed the lost brunette her compact. Tristan looked into the mirror of the compact and saw his face with a drawn on mustache, glasses, beard, and random drawings of the Red Eyes Black Dragon and Joey with a crown on his head for tattoos.

"JOEY!" Tristan roared.

"Relax, buddy! It was all 'n harmless fun!" Joey defended.

"Why I-!" Tristan began.

"Tristan, the bathroom's down the hall, eighth door to your right." Mokuba said, eating on a container of Cookie's 'n Cream ice-cream.

Tristan left the room grumbling. Once we knew he was out of earshot- sort of- we burst into laughter.

"Awesome Red Eyes, Joey!" Yugi complimented in between laughs.

"That mustache was perfect!" Marik laughed.

"Those glasses actually looked real!" Ryou stated while laughing. For the 32nd time today, we had to tell him to breathe.

Joey stood up and bowed. "Thank you! Thank you!"

* * *

After things had quieted down, Aeron asked me if I wanted to play on Mokuba's laptop. After asking permission twice, I took it and headed straight to Fanfiction-dot-Net. I needed a good fic to relax after today's events.

Tristan returned not long after I had settled my mind into a slash fic.

Aeron crawled over to me. "What'cha doin'?"

"Reading." I replied, not taking my eyes off of the fic I was reading.

"Reading what?" Aeron pressed.

"A Fanfic."

"Ooh! What type!"

"A Yaoi/Slash fic. What else?"

* * *

Tèa, who had overheard, leaned over to Tristan. "What's a _Fanfic_?" she asked.

"I don't know." Tristan replied. "What's a _Yaoi- Slash fanfic_?"

* * *

"What Shipping?" Aeron questioned me. She sat down beside me to get a good look at the fanfic I was reading.

"Darkshipping."

"Darkshipping?" Aeron asked in a 'why' tone.

* * *

Atem turned to Ryou and Bakura. "Say, you two, what's _Shipping_?"

"For the way they're using it in context, I have no idea." Ryou replied.

"What's _Darkshipping_?" Bakura asked Atem.

* * *

"What's wrong with Darkshipping?" I asked.

"I'm just not a big fan of it." Aeron replied.

"I know. Your main pairings are Puppyshipping, Wishshipping, Dragonshipping, and Feathershipping."

"Don't forget the occasional Mainshipping and Puffshipping."

"Okay, I know there's like two to five Puffshipping fics out there, but there are actually people who write Mainshipping?"

"Yeah, it takes a while to find."

"Ah, I see."

* * *

Joey, Atem, and Yugi looked over at Kaiba and Mokuba. The two Kaibas looked back.

"What the heck is _Puppyshipping_?" Kaiba Seto asked to none of them in particular.

"What's _Puffshipping_?" Mokuba asked. "And _Feathershipping_?"

"I wonder what _Dragonshipping_ is." Atem thought aloud. "And _Mainshipping_."

"_Wishshipping_? Do you guys know what that is?" Yugi queried. The four other boys either shook their heads and/or shrugged.

* * *

"You always read things that deal more with Fluff or almost Lemons or Limes, don't you?" Aeron questioned me. I blushed a bright pink at the fruity words.

"Guilty. But I don't read the descriptive stuff; I usually either scan it or skip it. Depending on the level of Lemony-ness and Limey-ness." I answered.

* * *

Marik nudged Ryou. "What's a _Lemon_?"

Ryou answered with a question. "What's a _Lime_?"

Yugi looked at the two. "What's _Fluff_?

* * *

"What Shippings do you read again?" Aeron asked. "I forgot."

I rolled my eyes. "A lot."

"Just give no more than 10."

"Are you sure about 10?"

"Yesh. No more than ten."

"Alright." I took a deep intake of breath for this. Aeron liked to know just exactly I read. I have no idea why. "Puzzleshipping, Tendershipping, Puppyshipping, side of Bronzeshipping, Heartshipping, Stepshipping, Darkshipping, Chibishipping, Thiefshipping, and, finally, Angstshipping."

* * *

The group now just pondered these strange words aloud to themselves now. It kind of went like this:

Atem: What's _Puzzleshipping_?

Ryou: What's _Tendershipping_?

Marik: What the heck is _Bronzeshipping_?

Yugi: What's _Heartshipping_? And by the way, what's _Chibishipping_?

Mokuba: Somebody explain to me what _Stepshipping_ is?

Bakura: Does nobody wonder what _Thiefshipping _is?

Marik: Come to think of it, I wonder what _Angstshipping_ is too.

Ryou: Me too!

* * *

"Wow." Aeron said. "I bet that isn't half of the list of Shippings you read."

"Not a third." I said. "Sometimes I have to read Shippings that are on the side with others. Bronzeshipping one of them. When I read a Thiefshipping fic, there's sometimes the side of Deathshipping. When I read an Angstshipping fic, there's a side of Psychoshipping sometimes."

* * *

Ryou looked at Marik. "_Deathshipping_? Sounds freaky!"

"So does _Psychoshipping_." Bakura muttered.

* * *

"Yuck." Aeron said, sticking out her tongue. "Almost worse than a Chaseshipping fic."

"I find Chaseshipping quite interesting sometimes. They usually are the humorous type. Next to your little group of Shippings, that is."

* * *

Duke and Tristan glanced at each other and chorused, "_Chaseshipping_?"

Atem piped up. "Hasn't anyone noticed that we're all speaking our questions aloud, and the girls who are spouting off this strange language don't seem to have noticed?"

He was right. Erica ans Aeron seemed in their own little world.

"They're also the only ones who know what they're talking about." Ryou added.

"Well, let's ask them." Yugi concluded.

* * *

"Hey, Erica?" I heard Yugi's voice. This brought me out of the deep conversation Aeron and I were having.

"Huh?" I looked toward Yugi and noticed everyone was looking at me and Aeron. "What?"

"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What are _Shippings_… and _Yaoi_… and _Lemons_… and all that?"

My eyes widened and I could just tell my face had turned every shade and tint of red until it stopped on a dark crimson. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aeron… well, in the same condition.

"Crap." Was all I could say.

* * *

In the end, we had to tell them. _**EVERYTHING!**_ Most embarrassing thing _**EVER**_!

Their reactions, well…

Ryou had ended up fainting. Bakura had become all defensive, saying he would never do such a thing with (insert name of **Yu-Gi-Oh!** boy here). Marik had to fan Ryou awake… even though he was on the verge of passing out himself. Atem screamed like a girl every time his name (whether it be Yami or Atem) was mention when we read or just said by memory aloud Shipping that dealt with him. Joey jumped out of the living room window. Good thing we were on the ground floor. Tristan and Duke had run to the bathroom to throw up, not before screaming every time they made contact. Tèa was perfectly fine… until we mention Yuri… then she was like Tristan and Duke. Mokuba and Yugi went on a rampage. Mokuba went on a rampage saying that anybody who read or wrote any of those Shippings were either going to the Shadowrealm or going to die by his blade. (Yeah, dramatic much.) Yugi tried to be calm… until he heard about Kleptoshipping… then he joined Mokuba. The two calmed down after we told them that they'd have to kill us too. Kaiba, poor guy, he'd never been laid in his life. Hearing him getting laid with a certain Mutt, well, he was frozen stiff… yea, he didn't look too well.

* * *

Soon later, it was time for us to go home. We said our goodbyes, and Aeron and I followed at a safe distance behind Atem and Yugi home. When we got home, the two doppelgangers headed straight to their respective rooms without even taking off their coat or shoes.

Aeron and I headed to the living room. Once we settled into our "beds", and turned off the light, I know me and Aeron were thinking the same thing.

Our friends weren't _ever_ going to forget this. They were all probably scarred for life. I just hoped that they didn't hate us now.

"You know," Aeron's words cut through my dark, saddening thoughts, "they took that better than I thought."

* * *

**No offence intended for anyone who likes Yuri, Yaoi, or anything listed that could be considered bashed in this chapter. I happen to LOVE Yaoi. The boy YGO characters dont. **

**Also, if you dont know what a shipping is in here, ask me what it is and I'll tell you. I dont want my readers going too uninformed. :)**


	28. Erica Meets Logan

**Konnichiwaaaaaaaaaa!**

**Bakura: Oh great. You again.**

**Me: Yesh it me‼ I finally got this up! Yaye!**

**Yugi: She's having one of her moments again... isnt she?**

**Ryou: Yup. **

**Bakura: Can we please throw her off a cliff!**

**Ryou: NO‼**

**Me: *singing* Baku-Baku in a tree! Baku-Baku cant see me! Baku-Baku tomarrow sucked! Baku-Baku gonna get-**

**Bakura: Dont even finish that line!**

**Me: What! I was gonna say ice-cream!**

**Bakurae&Yugi: *sweatdrop***

**_Enjoy‼_**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 28**_

_**Erica Meets Logan**_

About a week after Aeron and I had gotten here, I had learned that I could get up and make my own breakfast without seeming rude. Although, Yugi and Grandpa had to tell me that like a hundred times for me to get the picture. They seemed glad when I did.

That is why I didn't feel funny now making myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. It was that off brand of Cocoa Pebbles. I forget the name.

I had the bowl filled 4/5's to the brim and now was adding milk into it. I sat the milk carton back down on the counter just as the door opened to reveal a tired looking Yugi.

Oh great. I had planned to avoid Yugi and the others today in case they were mad!

"Morning!" he said with as much excitement he could possibly muster. He seemed extremely tired. Yugi then yawned and rubbed his eye.

Okay, he didn't _seem_ all too mad.

"Morning." I replied. I stuck a spoon in my cereal and carefully carried it to the table to eat it. I sat down, took the spoon, and shoveled a lump of cereal into my mouth.

A minute later, Yugi came out of the kitchen with his own bowl of cereal and sat down next to me.

Alright, if he was mad, would he sit next to me?

Yugi looked over at my cereal. "Erica, I'm not a food expert or anything, but don't people usually eat _milk_ with their cereal?"

I could tell he was joking around with me. So, was he even angry?

"There is milk in there." I replied.

Yugi looked at my breakfast again. "Are you sure? I can't see it."

"There is!"

Yugi laughed a bit. I pouted. This was some sort of silly payback, I knew it!

I took another bite of my cereal. So did he. Yugi was eating the vanilla version of my cereal.

"Say, Yugi?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" the petite duelist answered while playing with his breakfast cereal.

"You… and the others… aren't mad, are you?" I asked hesitantly. I was a bit nervous of the answer.

"Mad at what?"

"You know… yesterday… pairings…"

"Oh, that. No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

"Well," I paused for a minute, nerves still acting up, "it's just, me and Aeron like that sort of thing," my words began to come out of my mouth a bit faster with each word said, and I felt hot tears coming to my eyes, "and you guys had such a reaction yesterday, and I thought you'd hate us now that you knew, and you might thing we're freaks, and-!"

"WHOA! Erica! Slow down! You really think we'd _hate_ you?" Yugi inquired.

I wiped stray tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand and sniffled. I nodded.

I didn't look at Yugi. I didn't want to. I could just feel the hurt radiating from him. I didn't want to see it. I just looked at my bowl of cereal, milk, and tears that fell in while I was crying.

Yugi let out a sigh of what sounded like hurt. "Listen, Erica, we'd _never_ hate either of you for this… well, Bakura might, but me and any of the others will most definitely not."

I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder. I looked up to see Yugi smiling at me. I smiled back.

"We're your friends, right?" Yugi continued. "We accept you as you, not if you do or do not read yaoi." Yugi visibly shivered at the word 'yaoi'.

I giggled. "Yeah, you're definitely my friends. And Aeron's too."

Yugi took his hand off my shoulder and went back to eating his now soggy cereal. I did the same, and we ate in silence for some time.

"Hey, Yugi?" I said.

"Hm?" he sounded.

"Can I ask one more question?"

"Sure."

"You seemed more tired this morning than you usually are in the mornings. How come?"

Yugi bit his lip and looked back down to his breakfast cereal. "Oh, I kept having a dream last night."

"Nightmare?" I inquired sympathetically.

"To me, heck yeah. But, you'd actually like it." Yugi's eyes widened and I heard him curse himself under his breath for saying that last part.

"I would? What was it about?"

Yugi heaved a sigh. "There's no way out now, is there?"

I cocked my head to the right slightly.

Yugi muttered the next word he said in a disgusted tone. "Puzzleshipping."

I "eeped" loudly. "Details! Details!" I squeaked excitedly.

Yugi laughed. "See? I told you you'd like it!"

"Details!" I persisted. I began to hop in my seat. I needed details. NOW!

We heard someone come in. We turned to find Atem. "I thought I heard you two talking in here." He said.

A grumpy voice behind Atem spoke. "Atem! Why in Ra's name did you wake me up?" A messy haired Aeron walked out from behind said ex-pharaoh.

"I didn't wake you up. I just happened to be passing the open door when you fell off your 'bed'."

Aeron growled.

"Uh, Aeron? Your hair is messy." Yugi pointed out.

"Eh? Oh, I was tossing 'n turning a lot last night, probably." She said.

"Nightmare?"

"Uh, yeah, nightmare. Let's go with that!"

"So it wasn't a perverted dream about Joey, then?" I queried sarcastically.

"SHUT UP!"

All of us in the room, excluding Aeron, laughed.

Aeron, once again, growled. "I'm going back to bed!"

Aeron headed back to the living room. Yugi looked at me and smirked. I got what he was planning the second he did. I was having the same thought. I grinned back.

"Alright." Yugi said. "Too bad _Joey's_ going to be here in an hour."

Aeron stopped in her tracks. She turned around and put on a smile. "So… what's for breakfast?"

"I'd fix my hair first." I said.

Aeron grumbled and went to the bathroom to find a brush.

After a minute, we heard the bathroom door shut. Yugi stood up, went to the phone, grabbed it, and began dialing a number. "Now I have to call Joey and ask him to be here in an hour."

Atem, who had been in the kitchen getting his own breakfast, who had also heard the whole thing, came out of said kitchen shaking his head. He sat a bowl with two boiled eggs in it on the table. "That girl is too love-struck to realize when she's being lied to."

"You got that right." I replied.

* * *

It was nearly 11:00 am, 10:45 to be exact. Joey was due to be here in 15 minutes. Aeron, who had ate barely any food for breakfast. We had tried everything to get her to eat, but she'd have none of it.

Yugi, Atem, and I agree that she's too in love for her own good. Saving her food to give to Joey to get on his good side. Was she planning to starve herself?

But, to top all that, Yugi still hadn't told me the details of his dream! I have been waiting for 45 minutes! Was he avoiding the subject?

I had enough. I wanted details, _NOW_!

"Yuugiiiiiiiii‼" I whined.

Yugi looked up from his sudoku puzzle he had gotten out about 40 minutes ago confused. Aeron chuckled.

"What?" he asked her.

"You've done it now." she giggled.

Yugi looked fully confused now. "What have I done?"

"Well," Aeron elucidated, "Erica only stretches out her words in a whiney voice when she's impatient and/or ignored, whether it be in a conversation, real life, or a subject she wants to know about."

Yugi gulped and looked back at his sudoku.

_Oh, no! I'm not giving this up without a fight!_ I thought, growling.

"Yuuuugiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Detaaiils!" I whined again.

Now Atem looked puzzled. "Details? What's she talking about Yugi?"

Yugi gave out a defeated sigh. "My dream."

"Oh. Why can't you tell us your dream?"

"Because I don't want to relive it, and I know you sure as heck don't want to live it."

"Why?"

"One disgusting word: _Puzzleshipping_."

Atem fell out of his seat with a "GAH!" Aeron eeped a "Tell!" and I just repeated the word "Details!"

"Do I have to?" Yugi groaned.

"YES!" Aeron and I shouted.

Yugi groaned once again and told the details. Atem had left the room before so. It turned out that the dream was just fluff. Aeron, disappointed, actually began to eat again. I, on the other hand, was fully satisfied and had written down each and every word so I could turn it into a Fanfic.

* * *

Folding up the napkin I wrote on and shoving it in my pocket, I looked over at Yugi who had his head on the table muttering something about feeling like he was going to hurl again.

"You okay, Yugi?" I asked.

"Not really." He replied.

At that moment, the phone rang. Atem answered it in the room he was in (we know that because we heard him, he was in the room next to us). After a second, said pharaoh stuck his head in the door. "It's Joey. He says he's at the mall and needs help."

Aeron perked up at "Joey". "Help with what?"

Atem put the phone back to his ear and asked that, then, receiving an answer, put his hand back over the phone. "He says that all we need to know is the word, 'Bakura'."

"What's Bakura done this time?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know, but I think we should head over there."

I had already got up from my seat and had put my dishes away when Atem said _Bakura_. I was currently putting my coat and shoes on. "Waaay ahead of ya." I said heading toward the game shop.

"Wait for us, Erica!" I heard Aeron call behind me. I also heard tableware clattering.

"Hurry up slowpokes! I'm almost to the front door!" I called back.

* * *

When the four of us got to the mall, we expected something (since it was Bakura). But what we saw… well, let's put it this way… you thought the Bakurae had feminine looks before?

Apparently, one of the stores was having a fashion show. From what I can guess, the manager was running short on models and had asked the two silverettes to be volunteer models. Did I mention that it was a show for teenage girl's fashion?

Ryou was trying his hardest up there while Bakura just stood there stiff and with a bit of angry attitude on the runway. Though, the manager seemed to love Bakura's… pose. It did match the outfit was wearing.

Bakura was wearing a black turtle neck; a plaited skirt that had a black background and orange, yellow, and red flames rising from it from the bottom hem of the skirt (not real flames, of course); blackish-grayish tights; and black- were they go-go boots?- boots that reached his knees and had buckles on them running up the middle. His hair was tied up in some sort of wild bun with some pieces hanging down to frame his face. These strands had a hair extension on each side that was red-black striped. I think he went for the Goth look.

Ryou, on the other hand, went for a brighter, happier feeling. He flaunted and posed pretty much like a girl would on the runway. His actions, I say, matched the look he went for. A bright pink shirt under a furry, white jacket; light blue skinny jeans that looked a bit won around the knee area; furry, white ankle boots; and white gloves was what he was wearing. Ryou had his hair into two long braids and had a pink beanie in top of his head.

But what got me was their tops. Someone had stuck something in their tops to make it look like they had breasts.

… Don't tell them this, but they made pretty convincing girls.

Atem and Aeron were on the floor laughing. I would have joined them, but I kept a straight face in case Bakura were to look our way. I must say, it was _extremely _hard.

"Hey!" Yugi and I looked in the direction of the shout. We saw Joey running up to us with a video camera in his hand. "There ya are!"

"Hey, Joey, what's the problem?" Yugi asked.

"Yea, I thought that Bakura was up to something naughty again. Not starring in a fashion show!" I added.

"I knew dat if I said _Bakura_, you'd come runnin'. What I need help with is dat I need you two ta get up ta da front and film our lil' fashion models." Joey laughed evilly as he handed Yugi his video camera.

"Wait. Why can't you do that?" Yugi asked.

"You and Erica are smaller than me. You can squeeze in 'n out of da crowd." Joey explained. "An' don't'cha want some Bakura blackmail?"

"You know, that could come in handy." I thought aloud. "We're in!"

"_What_?" Yugi opposed.

"Great! Now jus' wheedle in there an' get to da front!"

"Alright!" I grabbed Yugi's arm and began to drag him to the crowd, not without his protests, I might add. "See ya in a few!"

* * *

"Erica, I'm not sure about this. What if Bakura sees us!" Yugi disputed.

"Relax! Do you really think Bakura would do anything to us? Ry wont let anything happen to us!" I argued. We arrived at the front. The two Bakurae were still up there, thankfully.

"Still…"

"Oh, just shut up and film them already!"

"Okay…"

* * *

Bakura just couldn't believe what his Hikari had gotten him into. Why did Ryou have to be so sweet, nice, and helpful? Anyone who comes crying to him, he'll help. No matter what he has to do. Like dressing up as girls to be in a silly, girly fashion show!

He was so uncomfortable. His tights were riding up, his Yadounushi was flaunting around like a stupid girl, and he was being filmed by that idiotic blond girl and the bakayaro pharaoh's midget-light! He had had enou- wait. What was that part?

He looked out into the crowd again and saw Yugi holding up a video camera and Erica smiling and waving at him in the front row.

"Hey! Ryou!" he called out.

Ryou stopped his posing and looked back at his darker half. "Hm?"

"Do you know we're being filmed?" Bakura inquired.

"Huh?"

Sighing, Bakura motioned out to the crowd. He pointed to the front row where the duo stood. Ryou's eyes followed Bakura's motion and saw his friends in the crowed with a video camera. He gasped.

With that done, Bakura had one last thing to do. "They're dead!" he yelled and stomped off stage.

* * *

"_They're dead!_"

Yugi and I gulped. We looked at each other and shouted: "RUN‼"

We ran. Fast. Like roadrunner. For our lives. After making our way through the crowd, we dashed straight to our friends. Yugi tossed Joey his camcorder and he and I his behind our bewildered friends.

"What's going on?" asked Atem, whom Yugi was hiding behind.

"HE'S GONNA KILL US‼‼" Yugi and I screamed.

"Oh, come on. I doubt he'll do that… now, who are we talking about?" Aeron said.

"Alright! Where are the midgets?" Bakura growled as he stomped his way over to us. Ryou was holding onto Bakura by the waist trying to hold him back.

"IT WAS JOEY'S IDEA‼" Yugi and I, who were apparently _the midgets_, screamed.

Joey turned to us. "_Thanks_." He said sarcastically. He turned back to Bakura and Ryou, who was still trying to stop the angered Yami, to no avail. "Yeah, it was my idea. What'cha gonna do 'bout it?"

"I'll just have to kill you then‼" Bakura declared, rolling up his sleeves.

"I'd like ta see ya try!" Joey shot back.

Even though I was hiding behind her, I could just tell that Aeron's eyes were glittering and she was in Joey-land again.

"He's so brave!" she whispered in love-struck amazement. I sweatdropped.

Atem put his hand to his head. "Come on, guys. Can't we settle this without violence? I don't want to be kicked out of the mall."

* * *

On the other side of the mall, Margherita's minions were doing… well… this authoress doesn't really know what.

Ahem… in JCPenny's…

"Logan! What the hell are you doing?" Sara yelled at said Logan. The dark skinned boy was fiddling with… well… something.

"I'm playing around with my magic ring-thing! What does it look like I'm doing!" He yelled back.

Logan was flipping this metal ring that his master, Margherita, gave him. It was just that. A small, silver, metal ring. It was about as big as the circle you make when you put your hand in an OK sign. He could put it up to his eye, and it would encircle it completely.

"Logan, that's not a _magic ring-thing_. Weren't you paying attention when Master told us what they are?" Sara argued.

"Uhh…" Logan had a flashback to that moment.

* * *

"_Now, listen here," Margherita demanded as she passed her three minions a small, metal ring each, "these are __**Spark Finders**__. If you look through these rings, you see the Soul Sparks a person has… You have to look at a person to see that. If the person is yellow, they have a weak soul. If they are orange, they have a strong soul. If they are red, they have a powerful soul. If you flick your wrist while holding it (not letting go), it'll show you the exact number of sparks a person's soul has."_

_The four were sitting atop a mall. Kara and Sara were paying attention while Logan was busy looking through the skylight at fashion show models. __**That Goth with the white hair's hot!**__ Logan thought._

* * *

"No." he answered.

Sara whacked the boy upside the back of his head.

"OW! What the hell was that for!"

"You're an idiot!" Sara retorted.

"Well, you're a bitch!" Logan shot back.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

The two brawled for like ten minutes. During then, Kara just shook her head and looked at some clothes. _Those two fight just like a married couple. I hope they don't get too angry and try out the Shadow powers Master gave to us on each other._

Two minutes later, she heard an explosion somewhere in the store.

"Wow! Did I just do _that_?" Kara heard Logan yell excitedly. She looked over to see the boy looking at his hands, which were glowing with navy blue flames.

"Don't yell _that_ out loud! People'll think we're terrorists!" Sara yelled at him. A young couple who were running out of the store- along with the rest of the stores occupants- stopped and stared at her with a weird look. Sara saw that and looked at them. "We're not terrorists! Don't worry! Now, be on your way!" she reassured them nervously. The young couple nodded and left.

"_Smooth_." Logan commented.

"Shut up!"

Logan threw his arms up and stated, "Make me!" Another explosion, although this one closer, sounded. A second one followed.

"Stop doing that!" Sara demanded.

"I can do whatever I want! I swear, if I could, I-" Logan began.

Kara had had enough. "SHUT UP‼ BOTH OF YOU‼"

Sara and Logan jumped in surprise. They looked at Kara, who had a dark and angry expression on her face, fearfully.

"She's scary." Logan squeaked.

"Tell me about it." Sara agreed.

Kara walked to the stores exit, passing the fear-struck two. "Now, before you two start brawling again, I say we do what we're here for. Either we win a pyramid or a soul." Kara stopped at the exit to see that the two were exactly where they were a minute ago. "Now, WOULD YOU TWO HURRY UP? ‼ WE HAVE A JOB TO DO‼"

Sara and Logan gulped and hurried after the usually level-headed, patient, and quiet girl.

* * *

Ryou had finally convinced Bakura to quit fighting. The two were now in a changing room close to where Aeron, Yugi, Atem, Joey, and I were.

To tell the truth, I felt more relieved I've ever felt in my entire life at that moment. I thought Bakura was going to kill me!

Everything seemed peaceful, actually, right now. Just another day at the mall. That is, until something exploded here in the mall.

At the loud and sudden noise, I shrieked and grabbed hold of Yugi's (he was standing next to me, BTW) arm.

After a second, Yugi spoke up. "Um, Erica, could you let go of my arm?"

I opened my eyes, which had been previously shut, and looked at Yugi. "A-ano. Sorry‼ Just was surprised, is all." I let go of Yugi's arm and laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head as I did so.

"It's okay. I was surprised too. I'm just used to freak things happening." He said, smiling.

Coming from our right, we saw Ryou and Bakura running to us. When they arrived, Ryou asked, panting, "Did you guys hear _that_?"

"Yup. And we know Erica sure did." Atem replied.

"Hey!" said I sounded… **(*groans* I'm running out of ways to put my words without seeming redundant. Ryou: I kind of thought it was cute. Me: *blushes* Really?)**

"So that's that girly scream I heard." Bakura said.

I turned to him angrily. "FYI: I am a girl!"

I noticed something. Bakura's shirt was in his hand. Not on his…bare, masculine, well-toned chest…

KAMI-SAMA! Am I beginning to _blush_?

I turned away sharply. "W-we should get out of here. A-and Bakura, you should put your shirt on, y-you'll freeze out there without it!" I began to walk away.

"What if I don't want to?" Bakura argued.

"J-JUST PUT YOUR DANG SHIRT ON‼" I yelled at him and sauntered off. Kami-sama, I hope that blush goes away. How embarrassing.

Aeron chuckled and ran to catch up with me. I heard Bakura grumble behind me also.

Before we could get any farther, we heard another explosion.

"GYAH‼" I latched onto Yugi's arm again. I heard Aeron laugh beside me.

"Erica, I don't think Yugi likes you grabbing his arm every time an explosion sounds." She said while laughing.

"It's alright. I don't mind." Yugi said.

I let go of Yugi's arm once again. This was getting awkward.

"Why let go?" Bakura asked. "You know you'll just grab hold again when another explosion sounds."

"No I wont!" I countered. Another explosion sounded. Guess what I did. "Ya know, you have a point! Is it all right Yugi?"

"It's alright with me." He replied.

Aeron face-palmed and shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"Shut up!" I yelled.

* * *

Kara, Sara, and Logan stood on a balcony that overlooked the large square in the middle of the indoor mall. Kara took out her Spark Finder and put it up to her eye. She let her gaze sweep over the mall's occupants, most of which left from the sound of the three explosions. While checking out all of the persons, she saw a hint of red. Kara zoomed in on the red person (she had learned how to do that not long ago). The black haired girl flicked her wrist, while still keeping hold on the ring, and a 32 appeared in the middle of said ring.

Logan and Sara hadn't said a word. They were worried Kara might get mad at them again. When Kara spoke, they looked to her.

"Well, well, well. Look at this. We have a soul with 32 Soul Sparks. Pretty powerful." Kara said.

"32? That's a lot." Sara commented.

"I say we challenge him and take his soul!" Logan announced. "That will give us a head start on souls!"

"Logan. He's a she." Kara deadpanned.

"_Huh_?" Logan remarked, surprised. "Well, then we'll take _her_ soul. I'll go challenge _her _right now."

Logan was about jump off the balcony **(Atem: That could kill him! Bakura: That balcony was not **_**that**_** high. I could jump off it and survive. Atem: Still, why would he do that? Bakura: It's a thief thing, y'all wouldn't understand. Me: WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP!)** when Sara stopped him by putting a hand on his arm.

"Wait a minute. Why do _you_ get to challenge her?" she questioned.

"Because I called it." Logan answered.

"Still, what if I want to challenge her?"

"Well, too bad!"

Kara sighed. "I think Logan should challenge her."

"_WHAT_?" Sara shouted at hearing this.

"Yeah!" Logan said.

Sara walked over to her sister and asked, "Why?"

"Because," Kara explained, "32 Soul Sparks is a lot. None of us are experienced, too. There's a 75% percent chance that we won't win. Do you want to be the one to lose and tell Margherita of your loss?"

Sara thought for a moment. "No. Man, Sis, I didn't know you could be that…"

"Thanks. Now come on, we need to catch up with Logan."

Logan had already left to go find his challenge-ie.

* * *

At a food court **(Guess who thought of going there…)**, Aeron, Joey, Atem, Ryou, and Bakura, were drinking smoothies and eating French fries while watching Erica being paranoid and Yugi trying to calm her down. Erica was still holding onto Yugi's arm, BTW.

Aeron shook her head. "People could mistake them as a couple."

"Yeah." Joey agreed. "'S a good thing Mokuba ain't here."

"Yes." Atem concurred. "He'd get really jealous."

Ryou sighed. _These past few days have been like a bad dramadey on TV._ He thought.

* * *

Logan was peeking at our group of heroes from behind a pop machine. Kara and Sara were behind him.

"So," Sara said, "how are you going to get their attention?"

"Just walking up to them would be too obvious." Logan stated. "We need something so elaborate and complicated, that it'll take the writer days to think up!"

The twins blinked. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?" Sara asked. She then leaned over to her sister. "I think he's lost it." she whispered. Kara nodded.

"Which girl is it? I see four." Logan inquired.

Kara peered out from behind the red soda machine. "Logan, there's only two girls."

"What about the girls with the white…?"

"Those are boys… with long hair."

"Oh… does that make me gay?"

"Huh?"

"I thought the one with the white hair and the dark look was a girl." Logan pointed to our very own Bakura while saying this. "He was in the fashion show I believe and I thought he was hot."

Kara's eye twitched. "No comment."

A second later, Logan snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

* * *

Yugi sighed. "Erica, the mall announced that it was just a few machines in the back of JCPenny's. There's noting to be worried about."

"I'm allowed to be paranoid!" I countered.

Yugi sighed again. "Can you at least let go of my arm, though? My sandwich keeps wanting to fall apart, so it's hard to eat it with one hand."

I blinked and let go of his arm. "Sorry." I mumbled.

"It's alright."

Ugh. I. Am. An. IDIOT‼ I probably look like a weak, scaredy-cat now! Double ugh.

Yugi went back to eating his sandwich. I looked over to the others who were talking away to themselves, drinking smoothies.

I turned my back to the food court and looked out to the mall square. I swear, did Kaiba own this building? This place is huge! I mean, it had a square large enough to have a probably 10 by 10 foot rock platform in the middle with a moat around it that had small fountains in it. I think I even saw a river somewhere in a stare too!

I saw something on the side of the fountain. I looked closer and saw the KaibaCorp logo on it. … I sweatdropped.

I turned back around. I blinked confusedly.

"Ok! I swear there was a food court right there‼" I yelled, motioning to the empty space in front of me.

In place of the food court was a dark area. The atmosphere was swirling black and violet. I looked at the ground below me. All black. "Alright, where'd the white tiled floor go." I said more than asked.

I turned back around. "Come to think of it, WHERE'D THE MALL GO‼‼"

_Everything_ was black swirling violet. Well… this was strange.

"Hello there." A voice echoed from the darkness.

**(Erica: Are you kidding me? Me: Nope!)**

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled.

**(Erica: *sweatdrop*)**

"Nope." The voice said.

**(Erica: *double sweatdrop*)**

A boy walked out from the darkness. He had dark skin and what looked like one of those hairstyles that looked like he had no hair… or, at least, that's what I thought.

"Hello, I'm Logan, and I want to play a game with you." he said.

"Why would I want to play a game with you Mister Master of Clichés?" I retorted. "I mean, how many movies have Hollywood directors used this scenario? How many authors? I don't want to sound rude, but have you ever thought of originality?"

Logan's eyes narrowed. "Shut up and play me."

"Well!" I said to myself, annoyed. If you've noticed my sudden change in attitude, being transported from one dimension that was filled with many colors to a place with only two depressing dyes can make you cranky.

There was a short silence. Then Logan asked, "In any case, what is your answer? Play a game with me? Or not?"

* * *

**For your reference, the shipping used in the last chapter have been put here (i only used the base name to save room. "Tender" for "Tendershipping" for example)(Eng. names used since this story uses Eng. Names).**

**Dark: Yami Yugi/Yami Bakura ▒▒▒ Puppy: Joey Wheeler/Seto Kaiba ▒▒▒ Wish: Yugi Mutou/Joey Wheeler **

**Dragon: Yami Yugi/Joey Wheeler ▒▒▒ Feather: Yami Yugi/Yugi Mutou/ Joey Wheeler **

**Main: Seto Kaiba/Joey Wheeler/Yami Yugi/Yugi Mutou ▒▒▒ Puff: Joey Wheeler/Ryou Bakura ▒▒▒ Puzzle: Yami Yugi/Yugi Mutou**

**Tender: Ryou Bakura/Yami Bakura ▒▒▒ Bronze: Yami Marik/Marik Ishtar ▒▒▒ Heart: Yugi Mutou/Ryou Bakura **

**Step: Mokuba Kaiba/Noah Kaiba ▒▒▒ Chibi: Yugi Mutou/Mokuba Kaiba ▒▒▒ Thief: Yami Bakura/Marik Ishtar **

**Angst: Ryou Bakura/Marik Ishtar ▒▒▒ Death: Yami Marik/Ryou Bakura ▒▒▒ Psycho: Yami Marik/Yami Bakura **

**Chase: Duke Devlin/Tristan Taylor**

_**Sheyikes! Looooong list! I guess i got carried away with the shippings in last chapter.**_

**_Oh yes, I have a question. I realized a while back that I have been spelling Yugi's last name Motto intsead of the correct Mutou. Do you guys think i should spell it right from now on or keep it the way i started? I'm just too lazy to go back and change it. X)_**


	29. The Shadow Game

**YO, WATASHI NO KAWAII KYOUKI NO DOKUSHA‼‼‼‼‼‼‼**

**{That is Japanese for: _YO, MY CUTE CRAZY READERS‼‼‼‼‼‼‼_}**

**YES I CALLED YOU CUTE! LIVE WITH IT! **

**I THINK I AM "ABUSING THE CAPS LOCK"! I HEARD THAT PHRASE IN A STORY BY FALLEN-CRYSTAL-MOON, I BELIEVE, BUT I FORGOT WHICH ONE!**

**_PANCAKES‼_**

******Oh, BTW, I had one reviewer tell me I should change the spelling I have for Yugi's last name, and one tell me I shouldnt. I is now confoos-ed. So I decided to just NOT use his and Grandpa's last name... unless needed... then I think I'll just put "_M."_ Then I wont have to choose!**

**Anyways, ON WIT DA CHAPTAH‼ **

**THE HYPER, INSANE AUTHORESS COMMANDS IT!**

_**ENJOY!**_

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 29**_

_**The Shadow Game**_

There was a short silence. Then Logan asked, "In any case, what is your answer? Play a game with me? Or not?"

I thought a moment. "No."

Logan blinked. "Damn. Are you serious?"

"Yes." I replied.

Logan was silent for a second as he stared at me blankly. "Great." He muttered to himself. "The one with the most _Soul Sparks_ isn't the game-o-holic one!"

My ears perked up. "Wait. Did you say _Soul Sparks_?"

Logan looked back at me. "Yeah, so? Oh, you probably don't know what those are…" he began.

I interrupted. "Wait a sec. You're one of Margherita's gofers aren't you?"

"Oh, so you've heard of her?"

"Yeah, she's after the rest of the Jewel Pyramids."

"Oh, yes. You've heard of those too, I see. You have one around you're neck at the moment." Logan motioned to my Millennium Puzzle.

"Close, but no cigar. This isn't one of those. As you can see," I said picking my Puzzle up, "it's made of gold. And gold is a metal, not a jewel. But my friends do have one, and, let me tell you this, you ain't gettin' them."

"Oh? Is that so?" Logan inquired sarcastically.

"Yea, because, to get to them, you have to go through me!" I replied.

"Well, then let's play a game."

"I accept. What is it?"

Logan smirked. All of a sudden, the floor began to glow white and it looked as if a fog was rising from it. Logan and I were standing at two sides of a huge circle. "Here's how to play…"

* * *

Bakura wasn't one to notice people he didn't like, but he couldn't help by being affected by a certain crazy blond girl being absent from the group. "Hey, where's Erica go?"

Everyone scanned the area around them with their eyes for the blond girl. She was nowhere to be found within eyesight.

"I hope she isn't upset with me." Yugi said, worry hinting in his tone.

"Wouldn't put it beneath her. Her emotions have been whacked up lately." Bakura retorted.

Ryou slapped the white haired Yami's arm. "I'm sure she's not mad at you." he said, reassuringly.

"Where is she though?" Aeron asked.

There was a moment of silence and thought until Bakura and Atem's heads snapped up and searched the place with their gaze suspiciously.

"What is it?" Yugi asked.

"Don't you feel that?" Atem questioned in answer.

Joey was confused. "Feel what?"

"Yeah, I feel it too." Ryou murmured.

Aeron was also confused. "Feel what?"

"This is strange." Yugi said.

Aeron and Joey were now beyond confused. "Feel _what_?" the unison-ed.

Bakura looked straight at the area where Erica was previously standing before she disappeared. "The essence of a shadow game."

* * *

"Here's how to play." Logan explained. Ten cards appeared in the space between us. "It's a complicated one, so listen well. We each choose one of these cards. Each of these cards has a picture of a type of… occupation on it. Now, that doesn't mean doctor or lawyer, teacher or baker. The 'occupations' include Healer, Priestess, Demon… those things. What you pick will be like your game avatar. Following me so far?"

I nodded. If I wasn't about to enter a Shadow Game, I wouldn't thought this game sounded pretty cool.

Logan continued. "Alright then. Sadly, I have to make this game fair and tell you all the rules, or I wouldn't even waste my breath… you know, how about I tell you as we go along."

"As long as you tell my the rules, I'm fine." I replied as I picked up a card. Logan did the same.

A smug grin grew on his face. He turned the card face toward me. "I picked _Wolf Warrior_! Come on out!" as he said that, the card began to glow. A shape began to take form in front of Logan. A large gray wolf stood there on all fours, growling at me. I flinched. "Don't worry; he won't hurt you… yet."

Trying to relax the best I could with a jumbo wolf staring at me, I took notice of the chest plate and helmet on the canine. Shaking my head at the odd yet scariness of the creature, I looked at my card.

My eye twitched.

My 'avatar' was apparently in the same family as Kuriboh and Watapon. It looked like a tea-rose-pink fluffball with a tail on it. It had large, violet eyes on its head.

…It was positively KAWAII‼ But, as for being a strong monster… I don't think so.

"Can I have a do-over?" I inquired.

"No! Why?" Logan asked back.

"I got this." I turned my card to face him and my fluffy-thing materialized in front of me.

Logan snorted, and then laughed. "_Lucu_? You got Lucu? Try winning with that thing!"

Lucu's eyes began to get teary and she-he-IT! - looked like it was about to cry.

"Stop it! You're hurting his… her... ITS feelings‼" I yelled. "By the way, is it a boy or a girl?"

Logan didn't answer. He just kept laughing.

I looked at Lucu, who had snuggled itself against my leg. "I'm just gonna assume you're a 'he' and go with it, okay."

Lucu made a sound that I took as an okay.

… Boy that kid could laugh a long time.

I growled. "Yo! Are ya going to tell me the rest of the rules or just laugh till Christmas?" I yelled.

It took Logan a second to calm down, but at least he did.

"Alright. In this game, you have only one…" he snorted, "avatar. The monster in front of you. This is a battle game. Our two avatars have to fight until one is left standing. That one is the winner."

"That's it?" I inquired. "If you weren't using cards, I'd say this was a shameless Pokèmon rip-off."

"It is _not_! There's more." Logan defended. "Throughout the game, different cards will appear. These cards are Charms. These Charms can give your avatar a power boost, an elemental ability, defense spells, weapons, you name it. Most Charms last the whole game except defense Charms. They can only be used once, unless noted on the card. These special cards will appear at random intervals, so it's a race for them as well." Logan crossed his arms. "There is no such thing as trap cards, every attack in this game that is made, is made by an avatar against another avatar. You got all that?"

"… Uh… yeah."

Logan sighed. "You're an idiot." He said plainly.

"Hey!" I yelped angrily. Then, queried, "Is that all? Or is there more?"

"No, there's just a bit more. Since this is, what Margherita called it, a Shadow game, neither you nor I are safe from attacks and nether of us can step out of the circle. There is a barrier around it keeping us inside. Our avatars will also have to protect us while fighting each other. Both of them already know this, so my avatar won't hesitate in attacking you." Logan explained.

"Wait. You designed a Shadow game that will potentially harm you also?" I question marked. **(Erica: Huh? How- Me: Don't even make that comment.)**

"It makes it all the more thrilling! And, I know for a fact that your fuzz ball will most likely run and hide. It's not a threat."

"Then why'd you create it?"

"Every game has to have a weaker link. Duel Monsters and Kuriboh. Pokèmon and Caterpie. Bakugan and Reaper…"

"Caterpie and Reaper are weak…?"

"I don't know! I always thought they were! I don't usually watch the show!"

"Geez. Just a question. No need to snap."

Ok. I get the gist of the game, now. 1) Use your avatar to beat the crap out of the other person's avatar. 2) Grab up Charms. And 3) Don't get killed.

Alright, at his mark, the game starts. I tried to ignore the fact that this was a Shadow game and the fact that I could die. I tried to ignore the fact that Lucu was roughly the size of a Shetland pony in height and my opponent's Wolf Warrior was the size of a thoroughbred horse. I tried to imagine I was back home playing a game with my friends.

That actually worked too! That is, until Logan called game start and his wolf jumped at me with a ferocious growl.

I dodged just in time. I was sitting on the ground, panting, heart-racing in fear.

"I told you he wouldn't hesitate." Logan said.

* * *

"A Shadow game?" Aeron asked- her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Bakura said; he walked over to the general area where the vanished Erica once was, "somewhere in this area it's taking place."

"But how do ya know dat it's a Shadow game? How can ya tell?" Joey questioned.

"I don't think it's all the way in the Shadowrealm." Atem answered, moving to the same general area.

"Okay. Following you so far," Aeron remarked, "but, how do you know that it isn't all the way in the Shadowrealm?"

* * *

I got up and ran. I didn't know where to go. But, I knew that it couldn't be outside of the circle. Sadly, that monster of Logan's was chasing me and was _fast_. He was almost upon me. I stopped at the barrier. I turned around to face the dog. He was so close that, if I tried running in _any_ direction, he'd catch me within two seconds flat with just a jump.

The next thing I know, something soft and furry had ran into my side and had pushed me away from the drooling beast (which smacked straight into the barrier).

Once a, sort of, safe distance from the creature, I found it to be Lucu. "Thanks, Lucu, I owe you one!" I said. Lucu made a "you're welcome" sound.

Not ten feet away from us, a light appeared. I saw what looked like a card in the bosom of said light. **(Bakura: *snickers* Me: WRONG USE YOU DOLT‼)** I saw that Logan had taken notice of it also.

Thinking fast, I turned to Lucu**. **"Lucu, I need you to push me as hard as you can toward that light." I pointed to the light. "Okay?"

Lucu made a noise in "okay" and did so.

Logan made a dash for it, but Lucu had shoved me hard enough that I reached it before he did. I grabbed it and the light disappeared. I peered at the card. It had a picture of a pair of white, feathery, angel wings. Underneath the image was the word "flyte". I read it aloud in thought. That was when I perceived a difference in the light here… wherever we were.

I turned around to see Lucu glowing himself. A large pair of angel wings grew out of his back. Once the transformation was complete, he took flight and landed next to me, looking at me in saying: "Hop on!" I did so.

We had flown up a good fifty feet. That gave us more than enough space from Logan's avatar, which was jumping up in the air snapping at us.

"Of course! Thank you Jesus!" I realized. "Creatures of the air have advantage over land beasts!"

Another Charm appeared. This time it was closer to Logan. Before Lucu and I had even gotten ready to head toward it, he had walked over and grabbed it within seconds.

"Element: Fire!" He yelled. Wolf Warrior began to glow with red flames. He opened his giant jaws and fire roared out of it, heading toward us. Lucu dodged it, but not before I screamed terror.

* * *

A shoot of flame appeared out of nowhere not far from where Aeron and friends were standing. Screams were heard and people fled the mall. Many shouting of ghosts.

"That's how!" Atem yelled above the screams.

"If the game wasn't somewhere in the middle and in the Shadowrealm, that wouldn't happen!" Bakura explained.

"We need to get out of here!" Ryou shouted. "This time, for real!"

Aeron and Yugi looked at Ryou in worry. "What about Erica?‼" they questioned in accord.

Joey had an epiphany. "Hey guys!" he yelled over the crowds heading toward the doors as more flames shot out.

"What?" they said.

"Hasn't anyone else noticed dat Erica's gone jus' as a Shadow game appears?" Joey retorted.

The other five stopped.

_Oh, no. _Aeron thought.

* * *

I tell you this, dodging all those flames that canine was spitting was getting tiring. To top all that, I was blinded by a shining light in front of me.

…Wait! Shining light. Another Charm!

Lucu and I raced toward it. I snatched it up and red the card aloud. It seems to only work when you read the word on the card orally.

The card had a picture of a wave on it; underneath it said water. I read the word aloud and Lucu began to, once again, glow. His tail became a water whip.

Lucu whipped his tail at the opponent, right at the muzzle, causing the wolf to run out of flame. The dog's red flame that surrounded it deceased, and he was powerless once again.

I smirked. There was another rule to Logan's name he forgot to mention. Attack the heart of the problem, you're rid of it. Logan growled.

"One victory doesn't win the war!" he shouted.

Leaning partway off of Lucu's back, I hollered back, "Yeah, but it does give you a head start!"

Logan growled again. Another Charm emerged and he seized it before I could. He sneered. "Lightning!"

Wolf Warrior instantly began to crackle. His fur stood on end and lightning bolts shot down his back. Then, the animal was gone.

_Where'd he go?_ I thought.

A lightning strike hit ground not ten feet away from Lucu and I. The blast was blinding. "What the-?" I began, and then my eyes shot wide in realization. That was Wolf Warriors acquired ability. Lucu had not only the ability of flyte, but the elemental ability of water as well. Two deadly things when dealing with lightning.

_Awe, great!_

Another card appeared close to the ground and Logan got it.

_Twice in a row?_

"Hey! You're cheating!" I yelled.

"No, I'm not!" Logan yelled back. "I'm just lucky!" he read the card and shouted out "earth".

Wolf Warrior instantly turned back into wolf form and landing on a plateau that had risen up from the ground as he did so.

The thing growled at somehow cause a boulder to fly at us. I will never know how the dog with paws did that, but I do know that we dodged it easily.

Two lights materialized close together in the air. Finally! Time for me to get ahead!

When I had the cards in my hand, I read them both. One was air and the other was _power boost 3_, whatever that means.

After the, uh, sequence Lucu has to go through when I read off a new card, he began to spin around in a circle pretty fast and- "WHOA‼ DIZZY! I'M DIZZY!" I screamed as we did so. My head was spinning when we stopped.

So was this raging, large tornado that headed straight for Logan's Wolf Warrior. It was powerful enough to tug Lucu and me a bit even at the distance we were from the whirlwind.

* * *

A fast blowing, wind blew inside the mall. Aeron, who was thoroughly confused, was also extremely worried. Joey was right when he said that Erica had disappeared at the same time as all this started happening. So, if what she guessed was right, that Erica was in the middle of a Shadow game, was she alright? Was she hurt? With all these freak things happening, fire, wind, Aeron was a bit- more like _A LOT_- afraid.

"But, Ryou's right." Atem said. "We do need out of here."

"Yeah, I'd like ta _not_ 'ave fly-away hair." Joey agreed. "Don't go well with da ladies."

Aeron ignored the joke Joey made. She ignored Joey completely. Usually she would go along with anything he said… but not this time.

"No. You guys can go." Aeron yelled over the wind, which had become louder than it was before. "I'm staying."

Atem looked at the young brunette with a shocked expression. "What? Aeron, if you stay in this building any longer, it'll kill you! The building isn't even strong enough to handle this kind of freak abuse!"

"Just as I said. You guys go, I'll stay." Aeron replied.

"Aeron! Don't be stubborn and come with us! You're not safe here!"

"What about Erica? Is _she _safe? She's in that Shadow game and I'm not leaving until she's back safe and sound!" Aeron roared angrily.

Atem stopped, not used to being yelled at like that. He stared at her for a second.

"Well," Yugi spoke up, "I, for one, am not leaving until Erica appears either."

The ex-pharaoh looked at the two for another second longer before lowering his head and nodding.

"If Yoog an' Aeron are stayin', so will I." Joey decided.

"I think I will too." Ryou said.

Bakura looked at Atem. "What the heck, pharaoh. Both of our Hikaris are staying, as is the other two. How about we stay?"

Atem glanced up at Bakura. He nodded. With that, they all grabbed hold of something so they wouldn't fly away.

* * *

Wolf Warrior wasn't able to dodge it, even with the power of Lightning, this time. The twister was just too close and too fast. The cyclone picked the wolf up, spun him around a bit, and spit him out with such force that he hit the barrier… hard.

The mammal picked himself up off the ground slowly. When he stood up, he was only standing on three legs. The fourth, one of the front legs, was hanging limply. The impact must have broken it.

I felt sorry for it actually. I've always hated seeing animals or children suffer. This is no exception. Although, that feeling passed quickly when I remembered that the hurt animal was once, and still is, wanting an Erica-salad (To it, that's what I'd be… if not a toothpick).

I looked closer at the beast. It was angry. It wanted revenge. A few more, larger, boulders were tossed at us, this time at a greater speed. We dodged them, but barely. Lucu looked at me and made another whirlwind to send the opposing creature.

While Wolf Warrior was preoccupied, Lucu flew down and landed on the ground, telling me with his eyes for me to hop off. I did so and he flew back up to his place in the air.

Lucu… I get it. He was protecting me. If he wasn't able to dodge one of the boulders thrown it could've killed me, if not mortally wounded. But, for some reason, I wasn't given the feeling that Lucu only did that because he was "programmed" that way. He thought of me as a friend… and I thought of him as one also.

Don't you love those sickly-sweet friendship moments? No? Well, never mind then. Oh. You thought I said friendship _speeches_. Oh, no. I said something that isn't as annoying.

Wolf Warrior thankfully hadn't noticed that I wasn't any longer on Lucu's back and kept throwing boulders at the ball of cute lint.

Lucu kept whipping the wolf with his watery tail. Lucu aimed at the legs. I'm guessing he aimed there to try to wound him a bit more.

Wolf Warrior took more than enough abuse before Logan beat me in a race for another Charm. It turned out to be a health Charm. Wolf Warrior's leg had instantly healed, but he was still a bit weak from all the lashings.

At that instant, the brute turned back into a lightning bolt and struck Lucu in the right wing; both wings then "blew up" and showered the dark area with pure white feathers. Lucu fell to the ground with a thump; yelling, "LUCU‼" I ran over to the fallen furred animal.

Lucu tried to roll over on his stomach (he had neither legs nor arms, so he always "stood" on his belly), but couldn't. The lightning blast and the fall were too powerful for him. He didn't look wounded from the outside, but I bet it messed him up _real _good on the inside.

"Wow. I thought you'd put up more of a challenge." Logan said. "I guess I was wrong. Any attack I send would finish both of you off." He pulled a card out of his pocket. "I had got this when you were running from my _superior_ beast at the beginning of the game. I thought that I would save it for the end. It isn't really needed now to terminate you two, all I really need to do is have Wolf Warrior pick you two up, throw you in the air, and let you drop. But, it would be a great show stopper." Logan read the card aloud with a smirk. "Expand!"

Wolf Warrior opened his mouth and shot out a green lightning bolt, which headed straight toward Lucu…

* * *

A cascade of white feathers poured over the half destroyed mall. It would be really pretty and romantic… if it was anywhere but at the place they were at that moment.

The place where Aeron, Joey, the two Yamis, and the two Hikaris were at the moment was considered either haunted or just place freaky-dangerous but every occupant that was able to escape. The shoppers that were left were either parents looking for their kids or kids looking for their parents. All were fearful that this moment of beautiful peace would end. After all, they had just experienced indoor tornados, lightning, random flying boulders and rocks, water-whips out of then air, shots of fire, and what not.

One feather fell on Aeron's head. She plucked it off her head and, instead of what was to be expected and throw it to the ground, stuck it into her pocket.

Yugi looked at Aeron and spoke. "Erica will be alright, Aeron, right?"

"Yeah, she might be weak corporeal, but she's strong mentally. Especially with her heart." Aeron replied. But, even when saying this, she couldn't help but scream the opposite, being doubt, inside…

* * *

A white glow came from somewhere within 15 feet of me. I looked around to find that another Charm had materialized. With that green… thing… not ten feet from Lucu, I made a dash to it. to save time, somewhere along my path, I made a jump-grab for it, snatched it up, and landed by doing a somersault.

…How I did that, I'll never know.

The card had the word "Defense" at the top, and "Mirror" at the bottom. In the middle was a picture of a mirror. I read "Mirror" aloud and, just before it hit Lucu, the green light was reflected back towards Wolf Warrior, who, at the last two seconds, sent a regular lightning bolt toward me.

I felt a tingling numbness, yet… I felt nothing. I didn't see what happened to Wolf Warrior. I didn't see what became of Logan and Lucu. I heard the cry of: "ERICA‼"

Then…

All was black…


	30. Aftermath

**Wow. Short chappie. My last few chapters have been close to 15-17 pages long. This one had been 5. O, well. This one is really just the Aftermath of the last action filled chapter. I say this'll be a HUGE story. I dont plan the whole story before I start writting one. I just plan each chapter before I start writing it. So, I assume we have close to 10-12 more chapters left at the least... unless I surprise even myself and make it less... which I doubt. Well, I'm glad I have a few readers at least. To tell the truth, I'm just happy with a few! At least I got some!**

**Erica: ... WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!**

**Me: Shush! No spoilers!**

**__****Enjoy!**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 30**_

_**Aftermath**_

There was a bright flash of light. Aeron looked toward the fountain, the area in which the flash of light occurred, and saw something strange. There was a dark skinned boy standing behind a large wolf, a tea rose pink Kuriboh-like thing with a tail lying on its side looking defeated, and Erica at the bottom of the platform that had the fountain.

Erica grabbed, what looked like, a card and shouted the word "mirror". This green lightning bolt hit the Kuriboh thing and reflected itself back to the wolf.

The wolf thing began to expand. It expanded until it blew into pieces: blood, skin, fur, and muscle tissue blew everywhere.

The boy then muttered, "Shit!" and ran off. He ran toward an exit where two girls were standing, shaking their heads.

The pink fur-ball disappeared without a trace.

Aeron looked back over to where she saw Erica. Filled with joy and relief that her friend was okay, Aeron smiled and was about to run over to Erica. That is, until Erica fainted.

"ERICA‼" Aeron cried in shock. The boys peered in the direction she was looking and, along with her, ran to their fallen friend.

When they got there, Erica's eyes were closed and her breath was shallow. Yugi knelt beside her and raised her into a sitting position.

"Yugi," Ryou said, "I've heard that you're not supposed to move a person who's passed out."

Yugi looked down to the girl in his arms. He blinked. "… Too late."

The mall began to groan and moan, creak and shake. It was about to cave in. It had taken just enough abuse, now it was falling to its knees.

"Well, it looks like we've got ta go!" Joey yelled, snatching Erica away from Yugi.

"Hey!" Yugi noised.

"Sorry Yoog, but we've gotta get outta 'ere… an' fast." Joey explained, positioning the blond girl in his arms to where he could carry her and run at the same time.

"Yeah." Yugi murmured.

As Yugi stood up, bits and debris began to shower atop the friends. It was then and there that they ran for escape from the falling building. They didn't look back, even when they were a safe distance from the building. If they did, they would've saw three figures transforming into doves and flying off.

* * *

"She's not waking up."

"She's breathing, so that means she's alive."

Yugi, Aeron, Atem, Ryou, Bakura, and Joey were sitting around Yugi's living room. Yugi and Aeron occupied the floor next to the couch which they had laid Erica on.

The blond girl was asleep. None of them knew how deep a sleep it was, but they knew she would not wake up anytime soon.

Ryou looked around the room. Everyone seemed gloomy… even Bakura! Eyes would dart to the sleeping blond many a time. He knew that everybody in the room at the moment felt bad that Erica had to be put in this state… and he knew all too well that Aeron was blaming herself; you could see it on her face.

Ryou chuckled inside. Aeron was so… contradictory to herself. He heard she could be such a tough girl (although he's never seen it), yet, from what he'd seen, she was such a softie. She was a love-struck girl who really cared for her friends… especially Erica. The two were inseparable… like close sisters.

… Just like Yugi and Joey's relationship.

He had to say something to brighten the mood from gloomy to hopeful. The gloom was just murder.

"Perhaps," Ryou said, looking at his lap; everyone looked at the shy silverette, "perhaps… this is what she needs. Erica, I mean. Whatever happened in that Shadow game had probably worn her out. Maybe… maybe she just needs to sleep for a while."

Aeron smiled. Yes, she liked that thought. Erica was going to be fine. A sleep was what she needed. Aeron told herself that her friend would be fine, that she need not worry.

The others felt the same way. Why worry? Would that help their friend get well again? No. What Erica needed was her friends' support and hope, not their concern and worry.

Sorry for the friendship speech.

Yugi was the first in a long moment to speak up. "I think we need to call the others. To tell them… to tell them it has begun."

_

* * *

__SLAP!_

"_IDIOT‼_" Margherita had backhanded Logan. The poor boy didn't see it coming when he told her what had happened.

"Idiot!" she repeated. "You thought you could handle her? 32 sparks?‼" The purple-haired woman turned her back to the boy that was on the ground with a hand over his right eye. "You are _inexperienced_! You might've been able to handle her if you weren't, but you are! Insolent boy! To get the bigger things in life you must start small! Something I've learned from experience!"

"But Kara was the one who pointed the kid out!" Logan disputed, still holding his hand over his right eye and temple.

"Did she tell you to go after the girl?"

"Yes!"

Margherita turned to Kara. "Did you?"

"Sara and Logan were quarrelling on whom to challenge her. I merely suggested that Logan should do it since I knew our side would lose. I did not directly demand him." Kara explained. Logan's jaw dropped when Margherita merely nodded, turned, and left. He had a feeling Margherita was picking favorites here.

Before Margherita left though, she twisted halfway around to look at the three. "One last thing. The three of you just won't be able to work at this alone. I was hoping I could get minions that every one equaled two normal laborers, so I could have only three physical minions but seem to have six. Sadly, I only got five since Logan doesn't even equal two… more like a half of one. So, while you were gone, I made you some… playmates."

Margherita left the dank, dark room that was their hideout. Their hideout was an old industrial building that had gone out of business. The local government had just been too lazy to tear it down yet.

"I swear! She hates me!" Logan yelled to no one in particular.

"Everyone hates you Logan." Sara commented.

"Who asked you?" Logan retorted angrily.

At a sudden, a new voice appeared from the darkness surrounding them.

"He's got a point you know!" the voice laughed crazily.

"Yes, yes! A point!" another sounded from the other side of the room.

"A point! A point!" chortled another.

The room was suddenly filled with noise of laughter and talkers. The sounds came from all around the three confused teens.

Sara could barely think about what was going on. Why try to ignore when you could shut it up? "YO! SHUT UP‼"

The room became deathly quiet. Sara was having second thoughts about just shutting them up.

Then, the first voice that came before laughed. "You have a loud voice."

"Uhh… thanks?" Sara said hesitantly. "By the way, quit hiding like a coward in the shadows and come on out!

A figure came out of the darkness. The figure resembled a human… sort of. The basics of the human design that could be seen- hair, eyes, arms, and legs, and what not- were there… but… there were extras. The figure had blood red eyes and grinning mouth that showed off black fangs. Its hair was a light-ish brown that hung down in cords. The skin was a pale yellow. The being had normal hands and feet, yes, but there was a horn, curving upward, protruding from each heel of the feet. What's more, the creature had leathery, peach-colored bat wings projecting from its back. She/he/it had on a white tunic to cover the chest and down to the knees.

"Hi! I'm Blodwen! I'm a Bogle created by your master, and I have been created to be your playfellow! Me and my 28 brothers and sisters!" the figure, Blodwen, chirped.

"_Twenty-eight?_" Logan gulped.

The laughter in the room started up again.

* * *

**Erica: What happened to me!**

**Me: You're unconscience.**

**Erica: I know THAT!**

**Me: Then you know you won't be in a few chapters to come!**

**Erica: WHAT‼‼**

**Me: I guess you didnt...**


	31. Getting Behind

**Long chappie...**

_**

* * *

**__**Chapter 31**_

_**Getting Behind**_

Yugi sat in his bedroom. He looked at his hands which were in his lap. He was down.

Atem sat next to him. He watched the young boy. His Hikari was sad… and he did not like it.

"Yugi?" Atem ventured. Yugi looked up at him with sorrow filled eyes. "Yugi, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Why don't you read my mind and find out?" Yugi snapped bitterly.

Atem, taken aback, said nothing. Yugi wasn't one to snap. Especially at him.

Yugi realized what he said and looked back down at his lap. "Sorry, Atem." Yugi looked back at his Yami. "It's just that it's been _three_ days since Erica had passed out and she hasn't woken up yet!"

Atem looked into amethyst orbs filled with sadness and worry. Yugi was obviously worried the most, side Aeron, about Erica. But, that was Yugi's nature. He tended to worry about his friends.

"Yugi," Atem put a hand on the boys arm, "how about some milk and cookies? That usually cheers people up."

Yugi's mouth twitched. "Atem, I'm 16." Yugi tried to stay serious.

Atem saw Yugi's mouth twitch upward, close to a smile. Atem smiled himself. "Yes, but milk and cookies is one definite thing to make a person feel better… and something that won't be a potential way for me to burn the house down."

Yugi smiled sadly at Atem's humor. "I bet you'll find a way."

"Well, let's see. I will go get us each some cookies and a glass of milk. If the house still stands, you know I succeeded. If it burns… well, you know." Atem stood up and left the room. He headed for the kitchen.

* * *

After the ex-pharaoh had poured two glasses of milk, Atem grabbed the cookie jar from off the top shelf and set it on the counter. When he opened it though, he was in for a surprise.

Lemonie popped out of the cookie jar and held herself up by the rim, gasping for breath.

"Lemonie?" Atem cried out in surprise.

Following a few gasps, Lemonie regained her breath. She looked up. "Oh, it's Bigger Porcupine."

Atem scowled. "What're you doing in there, Lemonie?"

Lemonie raised herself out of the cookie container, and sat on the brim. "Later. But where's Suspicious Blonde, Suspicious Blonde's friend, and Littler Porcupine?"

Atem's eye twitched, but he said nothing about the names. "Yugi's in his room, Aeron's out with Joey, Tristan, and Tèa, and Erica's… asleep… in the living room."

"Well, take Lemonie to Littler Porcupine's room! Lemonie must speak to him!"

Atem did as he was asked as soon as he reached for some cookies in the jar. Sadly, there was none to be found. Atem narrowed his eyes slightly at Lemonie. The small faerie just scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously.

Well, the next best thing to cookies and milk was just a glass of warm milk, so Atem just warmed the two glasses of milk in the white-spinney-thing **(Me: You mean the microwave? Atem: That's what it's called? Me: *face-palms and says sarcastically* No, Atem, it's the freezer. Atem: Oh! So that's what it was! Me: *Anime falls***) and warmed the glasses of milk.

* * *

Atem and Lemonie arrived at Yugi's door. The man-once-spirit opened the door and entered the room.

Yugi was still brooding on his bed. Atem was worried. If this kept up any longer, his precious Hikari might become _emo_.

Atem sat by the saddened Yugi. Speaking softly, he spoke to the usually bubbly duelist. "Here, Yugi, a glass of warm milk. I would've gotten cookies, but apparently somebody ate them all." Atem looked over at Lemonie.

"Hey, Lemonie was in that dark prison for _days_! She got hungry!" Lemonie defended.

Hearing the familiar voice, Yugi looked up. "Lemonie? Is that you?"

"Of course it's Lemonie." Lemonie replied. Lemonie hesitated, taking in Yugi's appearance. His eyes were red and cheeks tearstained. "Has… has Littler Porcupine been… been crying?"

Yugi looked away quickly. He sniffled and rubbed his nose. "No." his voice sounded like when you talk and your nose is stuffed up.

"Yugi…" Atem muttered, worriedly. Yugi was apparently more upset than he thought. The taller of the two- only by an inch or two- handed Yugi one of the glasses with the white liquid in it. "Here, it'll make you feel better."

Yugi took the glass but only peered at the creamy fluid inside. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second to keep anymore tears from spilling out.

Lemonie glanced at both boys. "Lemonie believes she needs an explanation. She's been trapped in the cookie of jar for a while, she doesn't know what happened."

Atem gazed at Lemonie for a moment before turning to Yugi, who just looked at Lemonie before looking back down. Not knowing whether that meant Yugi did or didn't want to reenact the past number of days, Atem just took it upon himself to tell Lemonie the story.

* * *

"WHAT?‼" Lemonie screeched. "Suspicious Blonde is _unconscious_?"

"She's been that way for three days now." Yugi barely choked out.

"_Three days_?" Lemonie could not believe what she was hearing.

"Yes." Atem said calmly, but sadly. "There's nothing we can do…"

At hearing this, Yugi had a thought. Lemonie had many powers as a faerie. Maybe she could help Erica!

"Hey, Lemonie?" Yugi inquired. Lemonie looked at the boy. "Do you think there's anything you can do to help Erica? I mean, you've done all sorts of spells in the past, why can't you fix Erica!"

Lemonie stared at the boy. His eyes were so filled with hope and happiness at the thought. He seemed to glow. He was so eager to have his friend back… but, from what Lemonie heard, the magic that bound Erica to this sleep was from the shadows. Lemonie had no control over that. She only had pure Atlantian magic. Only the greatest of the Atlantian sorcerers were able to master the shadows. It required great power. Power… that Lemonie did not have.

Could Lemonie break this optimistic boy's heart, though?

Lemonie shook her head sadly. Yugi lost the hopeful twinkle in his eye and that happy glow. He went back to staring sadly at his cup.

Lemonie had a heart too. She knew what it was like to lose the ones you love. It hurt her to see the boy like this.

* * *

"C'mon, Aeron, I'll buy ya a hot-dog. You can even pick yer toppings!" Joey said to Aeron as he, Aeron, Tèa, and Tristan walked down the sidewalk.

Aeron had her hands in her pockets. She was worried about Erica. Three days was a long time for someone to be passed out. Aeron even realized that, without Erica there, she was off balance. Aeron was so used to the happy blonde being beside her that, without her friend, she tended to stray to the right, left (depending on the case), as she walked, was more awkward on her feet, Aeron could barely stand the silence also! Erica always had something to say. Erica would fill the silence with whatever emotion she felt at the time. Aeron always was amused (unless Erica was sad) when the blonde talked. It… it was just too strange without her.

Aeron's three companions noticed the lack of answer Aeron gave. Joey and Tèa didn't understand it and was worried. Tristan, though, tried to get an answer from the younger brunette.

"Yo! Aeron! Earth to Aeron!" Tristan called. Aeron came out of her stupor and looked up just as she ran into a pole.

Aeron fell back on her rump with a thump. She opened her eyes and blinked.

Tèa, surprised, questioned, "Aeron, are you okay!"

Aeron just picked herself up and brushed off her jeans. "Yeah, I'm fine." She muttered before walking on.

Tèa sighed. "Operation: 'Cheer Aeron Up' isn't working as well as I thought it would."

"Can ya blame 'er? She jus' lost 'er best bud! I'd be jus' as bad- or worse- if I 'ad lost Tristan or Yoog." Joey defended Aeron.

"Yeah." Tristan agreed. "But, maybe we should try working on Yugi. I mean, if Aeron saw him happy, maybe it would work on her too. And I remember Atem saying as we picked Aeron up that he heard crying coming from Yugi's side of the mind link last night."

"Yeah." Tèa muttered, and then added, "Those two seem really devastated. But, my question is, why is Yugi feeling as bad- probably even worse- as Aeron. I know Aeron and Erica were best friends but…"

"Maybe Yugi's got da hots fer Erica." Joey joked.

"I highly doubt that…" Tèa argued.

"What? Are ya jealous?" Joey interrupted.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind one way or another. I've gotten over my crush on Yugi and Atem. I like someone else now."

"Really?" Joey was justly surprised now. "Who?"

"Brad from Science class." Tèa replied.

Joey scratched his head. "Who he?"

Tristan, tired of the stupid conversation intervened. "Look, we know that Yugi is extremely upset about this. Probably over the time Aeron and Erica had been here, Erica and Yugi got closer and became fast friends. I mean, the two hang out together a lot…"

"Yeah, dat sounds about right, Tris." Joey agreed.

"Guys? Are you coming or what?" the trio heard Aeron call. They looked in the direction of the call to see Aeron standing at the street corner. With a yelp of bombshell, the three ran to catch up with the young girl.

* * *

On the roof of a Bakery in Domino city stood four figures. While three of them looked like normal teens, the fourth was like a mutant.

Kara stared up at the grey clouds covering the blue sky completely. She tried to block out the sounds of her sister and Logan arguing again. Blodwen seemed to fight for both sides. Every time one of the two would make a point, the Bogle would agree with the one person, then switch when the other made a point.

_Why do I always have to be the one to listen to this?_ Kara thought. She looked down then and saw something interesting.

"Hey guys!" Kara called to the trio behind her. They stopped their bickering and looked over. "Come here! Take a look at this!"

The trio obliged and came over. The four peered over the edge of the roof and saw four of that blonde girl's friends walking down the sidewalk.

Logan whistled. "Looks like we have our next task right here."

"I shall take care of this…" Blodwen stated, "… or rather, one of my siblings."

Blodwen made a strange sounding call and a pitch black portal opened. Out stepped another Bogle. This one also had a tunic that covered the chest and went down to the knees. Kara, Sara, and Logan had learned that the Bogle was female when the tunic reached the knees. If it reached halfway to the knees, it was male.

This Bogle also looked just like Blodwen. She must have been her twin sister.

"Tegwen, do you mind having the task of stealing one of their," Blodwen pointed to the four on the ground, "souls?"

Tegwen took a look down at the quartet. Her eyes stuck on one of the taller of the four. A tall brunette whose hair stuck out in a spike (which also reminded Tegwen of a unicorn).

"On one condition." Tegwen said with a smirk.

"What's that?" Blodwen inquired.

"I get to keep the one I defeat as a… personal toy." Tegwen replied; her grin grew larger.

* * *

Atem opened the front door (FYI: That wasn't the shop door), he saw a raven haired boy.

"Mokuba? What're you doing here?" the tri-colored haired teen questioned.

Mokuba stood in the doorway, looking down at his feet which shuffled nervously. His hands were behind his back, and his hair covered his face. How come he was so edgy?

"I-uh-" the thirteen year old boy began- "heard of the-uh…"

Atem sighed. He got the idea. Mokuba had come to visit Erica. Poor boy; it was amazing he hadn't broken down crying like Yugi yet.

"Why don't you come in, Mokuba?" Atem suggested. The boy nodded and stepped into the building and out of the cold. "You can put your coat on the rack." Atem said as he left the room. Mokuba did so and followed the ancient Egyptian king that wasn't much taller than him but by about eight inches farther into the house, his hands behind his back.

Just as the two got to the stairs, they heard somebody come down said stairs.

"Hey, Atem, did you see who it was?" Yugi asked. He looked and saw Mokuba standing beside Atem. "Oh, hey, Mokuba. What're you doing here?"

Mokuba got shy again. He gazed downward at his feet again. "I-uh-um…"

Yugi half smiled at this. The young boy wasn't doing to well at explaining or hiding the fact he came. "You came to see Erica, huh?"

Mokuba blinked and blushed. "…Yeah." He said shortly and quietly.

Yugi and Lemonie, who had followed Yugi down the stairs, chuckled. Even though the faerie wasn't present when Mokuba's confession was made, she could still take observations and estimates.

Yugi, then, noticed that Mokuba's hands were held behind his back. Yugi tilted his head slightly to the left and asked, "Say, Mokuba, what'cha have behind your back?"

"O-oh!" Mokuba pulled out his secret from behind his back. It was a bouquet of flowers, blue flowers to be exact. "I got Erica these. They're Egyptian Blue Lotuses. They were said to have healing powers in Ancient Egypt, but only if drank in wine… but, they were mainly symbolic for healing." Mokuba handed the flowers to Yugi, still blushing.

Yugi took the flowers and sniffed them. "Thanks Mokuba! I'm sure Erica would _really_ appreciate it!" Yugi took another sniff. "Mm! These smell good!"

"I do remember that about the flowers." Atem pondered as he put a finger to his chin. "But, I also remember a few other things about them too." Atem smirked.

"What's that?" Mokuba and Yugi asked.

"Well, since you two don't know, it's better not to tell you yet." Atem replied. He turned and left the room.

Mokuba turned to Yugi. "Should we ask?"

"Probably not." Yugi answered, smelling the flowers once again. They smelled _amazing_. Yugi just couldn't stop smelling them! In the back of his mind, something was telling him he was going to get drunk off that scent.

Yugi turned and headed toward the kitchen. "C'mon, Mokuba. Could you help me find a vase? We can set them on the table next to the couch, where Erica is sleeping, once we do."

"Sure." Mokuba responded. He followed Yugi into the kitchen to find a vase.

* * *

"C'mon, Aeron! Cheer up! We don't like seein' ya like dis!" Joey pleaded. The foursome stood at a crossway waiting for the _Don't Walk_ sign change to _Walk. _Aeron had her head bowed and her hands in her pockets. She'd been like that since they left Yugi's place.

Joey sighed. It looked like Aeron was _not_ going to cheer up. "What will it take ta cheer ya up?" He muttered, putting a hand to his forehead.

Tristan smirked. He leaned over to Joey and whispered, "Try telling her you'll kiss her. That might work!"

Joey flinched. "Why would I tell 'er dat‼‼" the blonde yelled. "How would dat even _work_?‼"

Tristan broke out in a fit of laughter. Apparently Joey was just as oblivious to Aeron's crush on him as Erica was Mokuba's. Really. Everyone knew about the two 13 year olds' crushes but the ones who _should_ know about it! At the moment, Tristan was caught between whether or not to tell Joey Aeron's secret. Joey could probably be a lot more of a help if he knew.

It was after Tristan had stopped laughing and Joey had calmed down. Tèa saw the sign change to the green _Walk_, but noticed that Aeron stayed in place.

Confused, the taller brunette girl turned to the smaller. "Aeron, you can go now."

But, Aeron did not move. Her head was up, which could've been said as a good sign. However, she was staring at something. Her eyes were trained on that one thing only.

"Aeron," Tèa inquired, "what are you looking at?"

Tèa, Tristan, and Joey looked to the area where Aeron was gazing. Across the walk and on the other side of the road, gazing back at them with a smirk was a creature like no other.

The thing looked human, if you didn't consider the pale yellow skin, blood red eyes, black teeth and fangs in its sneering mouth, light-ish brown hair that hung down in cords, peach-colored bat wings projecting from its back, and one horn that curved upward protruding from each heel of its feet. The creature was also wearing a white tunic that stopped at the knees.

The creature's eyes darted to its left, then its right. Suddenly, it shot its arms out, palms facing out to the air to the left and right of it. From the creature, a great gust of freezing wind raged in all directions. The blast of air was so strong, that not only stray pieces of paper and debris blew away. Trees were toppled over like dominos. Cars were tipped over on their sides. Bushes and other plant life were torn straight out of the ground. Ground beasts-domestic or wild- were what seemed like tossed through the air… was that a cow? People were literally blown off their feet!

Tristan was smart and had grabbed a hold of the street light pole. Tèa grabbed onto him.

Joey and Aeron tried to hold their ground but were pushed back little by little. Knowing soon they would be blown away like all the other poor pedestrians, Joey seized hold of a slender column on a building. The pillar was small enough for him to wrap his arms around easily.

Aeron wasn't so lucky. She tried to hold her ground still, but the wind had at last won victory over her strength and she was lifted off her feet and hurtled backwards in the air.

Joey saw this and shot his hand out, catching Aeron and pulling her down to the ground. He held her close to him and the pilaster so she wouldn't fly off again.

The wind calm down to nothing. The area around for, well, close to miles was in terrible disarray.

The creature turned its head to the left, and then the right. "Well," it said, "that takes care of crowd control! Ha-ha!" the creature laughed like a schoolgirl. Our heroic quartet took this as it being a girl.

The beast walked across the cross way on its bare feet. She walked up to Tèa and Tristan, who were frozen in fear.

"Move." The thing demanded and pushed Tèa away from Tristan. Tèa fell to the ground on her butt with an "oof"; she glared up at the monster.

"Hello, handsome." The creature purred to Tristan.

Tristan cringed. When the beast tried to move closer to him, he let go of the light post and backed away in fear and disgust.

"What?" the creature inquired playfully. "You've never seen a Bogle before?"

"No." Tristan replied; his voice shaking as the Bogle took another step toward him. He took another step back. "And I rather not again."

"Awe, you don't like me?" the playful tone in the Bogle's words held strong. She chuckled. "Name's Tegwen, and I'm gonna be your _playmate_."

"U-uh… n-no thanks!" Tristan stuttered out.

* * *

Yugi, Atem, Mokuba, and Lemonie were in the living room sitting on the other couch. Well, Yugi, Atem, and Mokuba were, Lemonie sat in the air munching on a rather large cookie crumb that was left in the cookie jar.

Atem peered over a Mokuba… who was clearly staring at the sleeping Erica.

"Mokuba, you're staring again." Atem bluntly said; a small smile on his face.

Mokuba made a surprised sound and tore his eyes away, cursing himself under his breath.

"Mokuba, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Yugi said, chuckling at the younger boy's blush.

"But, it feels funny!" Mokuba protested.

"What does?" Atem smiled and shook his head.

"This freaky feeling!"

"Mokuba, it's actually normal believe it or not." Yugi put a hand of the flustered boys shoulder. "Trust me, you'll feel like this every time you see a cute girl you happen to like a tiny bit more than a friend. Believe me, I know."

"Yea, well I don't like it."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes… no… I DON'T KNOW‼‼" Mokuba put his face in his hands.

Yugi and Atem looked at each other and chuckled. Poor Mokuba. Growing up so fast and not knowing what's going on. The two boys hoped that they wouldn't have to explain anymore than the feelings of love to they boy… they'd leave the heavy stuff to Kaiba.

_Thump!_

The three boys paused. They and Lemonie looked toward the window. There was a grey squirrel sliding down the window.

"Well… that was… weird." Yugi hesitated.

_Thump! Thump!_

Two black and white rabbits hit the window just as the squirrel slid off.

"Who's throwing creatures at Littler Porcupine's window?" Lemonie inquired into space.

Before they knew what was happening, the window's glass was broke and they were all toppled to the floor, shards of glass covering them, some piercing their skin.

Yugi sat up and brushed off the shards of glass that had fallen on him. He ignored he was bleeding in some places and noticed that a mailbox was half in, half out his window.

Yugi blinked. "Now we know what killed the window."

Atem sat up also. "We're lucky that didn't kill us."

Mokuba was lying on his stomach with his arms over his head. "Is it over?" his question was muffled.

"Yeah, I think it is." Yugi looked around. "Hey, where's Lemonie?"

"In here."

Mokuba rolled over on his back and sat up. Both he and Yugi looked over at Atem.

"Atem, I think your hair just talked." Mokuba chuckled.

Atem rolled his eyes up to his hair. Lemonie pushed her way out to the air.

"It's a jungle in there!" she said. Atem scowled.

Yugi smiled humorously. But, then he realized something. His eyes darted over to Erica. Her chest was rising and falling like she was sleeping peacefully. Yugi got up, found a blanket and covered her entire body with it. He noticed his three friends staring.

"To keep her from getting hurt." He shortly explained. The three nodded.

Yugi heard the wind outside pick up again and another large object came flying through the broken window, causing the mailbox to soar in also.

Mokuba yelped and jumped aside.

* * *

"Oh?" Tegwen inquired. "Do you not want to participate in a little game?"

"Why would I?" Tristan shot back.

Tegwen inwardly smirked. "Well, if you participate and _win_ it might save your friend… Erica, was it?"

Tristan's eyes shot wide and he peered at his three friends. Joey and Tèa were in the same state as he, but Aeron was a bit different. She stared at Tegwen with wide eyes filled with hope that this creature was telling the truth.

Tristan looked back at Tegwen. He bit his lip. "Fine, I'll play. But, when I win, you have to promise to fix Erica!"

Tegwen had her hands behind her back. She crossed her fingers. "Oh, sure. But you won't win… you do realize that's a wager right? So I need to have my own wager… right?"

Tristan gulped. What did she have in mind?

"If I win," Tegwen continued, "I do have to get your Soul Sparks… which are only five. But, with the rest of your soul, I get to keep you as my… _personal_ playmate." Tegwen giggled.

Tristan shivered… he did _not_ want to think of what she had in mind when she said that.

"It's a good thing… for me at least… that you already agreed." Tegwen stated as she turned her back to the brunette and headed straight back to the spot where she was before.

* * *

"Was she flirting with him?" Logan asked Blodwen.

"Yup. I don't know why. She _knows_ I'm the pretty one." Blodwen replied.

**(Tristan: What was the point in this segment? Me: I dunno. I just felt like throwing it in.)**

* * *

Tristan looked around. How did he get surrounded by black and purple all of a sudden?

Tegwen giggled. "Confused, sweetie?" Tristan cringed, Tegwen just sniggered some more. "We're in a place halfway between your world and the Shadowrealm. This is where the game takes place."

Tristan peered around the area for another moment. He didn't like this. Not one bit. "So are you going to tell me what the game is or are we going to stand here?"

Tegwen really seemed to like to giggle. "What? You can you not wait to be my toy?"

Tristan's eye twitched. … He really wanted to barf. Tegwen was really giving him the creeps. Was she planning on raping him if she won? Tristan shuddered. What had he gotten himself into?

"Sadly, there's only one game I can challenge you to." Tristan realized Tegwen was talking. He came out of his fear induced trance and listened. Tegwen continued, "I'm really only good at one thing. And that is combat. So I might have to rough you up a bit, but, don't worry, I wont _kill_ you. What would be the fun in a dead mate?"

Tristan would've rather die.

"The one who can't fight in the end wins." Tegwen finished.

Tristan was _not _going to lose. He had way too many people counting on him. Also, he didn't want to become this freaky toy… he really hoped when she said _toy_ she didn't mean _sex toy_.

"Any rules?" Tristan asked.

"None, except the use of weapons is prohibited." Tegwen replied.

Tristan looked at his hands. "No worries here."

Tegwen tittered. "Alright then. Game… start!"

Tristan and Tegwen circled each other for a moment. Tristan scrutinized his opponent for the duration of that time. He tried to figure out what her first move would be. She had wings, so the possibility of her jumping up and attacking him from the air was great. Although, her legs looked strong enough to help her to lunge at him with great force. She also seemed smart. She might have a different strategy up her sleeve. Who knows what kinds of powers she possessed. Tristan had to be ready for anything.

Just as the brunette boy braced himself for any attack she would try, Tegwen lunged.

* * *

"I wonder what's with the strange weather." Atem said as he pushed the mailbox and the trashcan back out the broken window.

"Yeah," Yugi agreed, "and why it wants to kill us."

Yugi was sweeping pieces of glass off the floor with his Grandpa's old broom. The electricity had gone out because of the high winds so he couldn't use the vacuum.

Mokuba had taken the blanket off of Erica and was shaking any glass that was on it to the floor, which ended up being swept up by Yugi. The raven haired child glanced over at Erica's sleeping form and noted a lock of blonde hair was covering her eyes (this wasn't a bang, for the girl had none). As if on an impulse he brushed the hair away from her face and gazed down at the unconscious lass. Atem, who had glanced over at the two, saw this and smirked slightly.

"You know Mokuba, she is asleep and won't notice a thing." the ex-pharaoh stated.

"So?" The younger boy inquired, not taking his gaze off Erica.

Atem's smirked grew a centimeter. "_So_, you could just kiss her and get it over with- she won't know a thing!"

Mokuba's eyes widened at the other male's statement and his face grew a fire red. He stumbled over his own feet and fell backwards on his bum. He looked at Atem in surprise. "B-b-but, I-I've n-never k-k-kissed a girl b-before‼‼" he spluttered.

Atem laughed. "Calm down, Mokuba, I was just joking! But, it is true, she wouldn't know a thing."

"S-still! Even if I could, I wouldn't want to. I'd feel… sneaky." Mokuba lowered his head until he was looking at Atem from under his bangs. The blush still covering his face, he added softly, "Besides, I don't even know how to kiss a girl… hence the never done it part."

"I'd say I'd teach you, but that'd be Chibishipping… which I don't endorse." Yugi said.

Mokuba and Yugi visibly shivered at the thought. But that did spark Mokuba an idea.

"Hey, Yugi, isn't there some kind of video tutorial you could show me?" Mokuba queried of the petite duelist.

Yugi looked at Mokuba and chuckled. "Not unless you trust Youtube. When the time comes, you just have to trust your instincts."

Mokuba gave Yugi a deadpanned look. "Yeah, well, that'll be kinda hard since not even my instincts know what to do."

"Oh, you don't know that!"

"Yeah, I do." Mokuba thought for a moment. "Hey, Yugi, have you ever kissed a girl before?"

"Of course." Yugi replied.

"Other than your mom."

"Yeah."

"Was it Rebecca?"

"Yeah."

Mokuba raised an eyebrow.

"…Okay," Yugi admitted, "she kissed me and it was on the cheek… so no."

"So why would I want to take advice from you?" Mokuba inquired.

"You're the one who asked!"

Mokuba turned to Atem. "Hey, Atem…"

* * *

Tristan dodged.

Tegwen landed on her palms and did a somersault to land fully. She stood up and faced Tristan in one fluid motion. "Why don't you just surrender now so we can get to business, hun?" Tegwen teasingly inquired with a wink. "It'd be so much easier!"

"Not on your life!" Tristan replied putting his fists up in front of him.

The Bogle giggled, "Playing hard to get, I see!"

Tristan… wanted to barf.

Instead, though, he aimed a punch at the giggly creature. Tegwen dodged with ease and pulled a counter attack, grabbing the back of his coat and drawing him back until she was able to use her own foot to knock his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground as she let go of his jacket.

Tristan fell to the ground with an "oof", but he didn't stay down long. The brunette got back up quickly and looked around. Tegwen was gone?

Where could she be?

…Not good.

"_Yoo-hoo! Up here!_" a voice sang. Tristan looked up to find his nemesis standing in the air above him, her wings flapping. Well, that proves that he had an aerial enemy.

"Yo! Cutie! Stop gawking up my skirt and get ready to fight!" she called.

Tristan blushed at the thought of him doing that. He wouldn't want to, but the thought still was weird.

Tegwen chortled. "I take it you were, then!" With that she swooped down so fast that you would've missed it if you blinked. The Bogle looked as if she was sitting in the air upside, down. Then, Tegwen did something that both surprised and disgusted Tristan.

She kissed him.

It was short, innocent, and light- nothing more than a peck to the lips, but Tristan staggered back, spluttering. He took the hem of his jacket and wiped his tongue on it until it felt numb and raw.

Tegwen took this to her advantage. Just as Tristan was about to peer back up, she gave him a hard kick to the head.

Tristan flew back and fell to the ground with a _thump_.

Seconds passed, minutes. Tristan lay on the ground; it looked like Tegwen had won.

"Hm. Not much of an opponent are you?" Tegwen inquired to the unconscious brunette. She turned her back to him and placed a finger on her chin. "It's a good thing your cute then. Sad really. It seems I, the girl, will be dominating this relationship. Hm." Tegwen shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I better be getting this bad boy home so he can get ready for…" the Bogle chuckled darkly, "… tonight's festivities."

But, Tegwen really did the wrong thing. Just after she turned away from the brunette, Tristan began to stagger up. It took him a minute, but when he did, he lunged at the creature with a mighty cry.

Tegwen was just turning around to see what the commotion was when a fist collided with her eye. She soared backward and to the earth. When she stood back up again, which was a good few minutes after she was hit, Tegwen put a hand to her eyebrow, which began to bleed from the impact. She took her hand away from her eye and inspected the bloodstained fingers, rubbing the index and middle fingers with the thumb with mild interest.

The Bogle giggled and began to lick the blood off her digits. "Seems as though you're more of a challenge than I thought." she said, and then her expression grew more grave. "But that was a bad mistake."

Tegwen then proceeded to do what seemed like a gymnastics routine. At one point of the routine, she jumped high in the air and dive-bombed our poor, unsuspecting hero.

Tristan held her off him while she aimed a few punches and kicks at him, but he was wearing out… and fast! He had to think of something quick before he ran out of energy; lost, and ended up being Tegwen's… he didn't want to think about _that_. But what?

The brunette swung a punch when Tegwen had the smallest opening. She was knocked back, but stayed standing, holding her stomach, where he had punched. During this time of exposure, Tristan took advantage of casting a few more blows to her. But, being a mythical creature, she could recover quickly. Mere human strikes are feeble compared to her strength.

After that, the fight, though, was a bit even, no matter the strength of each opponent. As much as she wanted to deny it, Tegwen was weakened a smidge.

Tristan was close to out of breath. He only had enough vigor to deliver one last blow. Breathing heavily, he dodged an aerial attack from the Bogle menace. She landed on the ground in front of him, and that's when he made his move. He aimed a punch for the creatures face, but she dodged with ease and grace and kicked him in… well, a very uncomfortable place… as hard as possible. Pain shot through his whole body- and it was over.

* * *

The earth rumbled and a bright light pierced their eyes.

"Joey! What's happening?" Aeron yelled.

"How da heck should I know?" Joey called back.

Tèa pointed over toward the middle of the crossway with a surprised look on her face. "Look!"

The two peered to where the girl was pointing, and the three saw something shocking. A great orb of white light shone in the area and two figures were inside it: one standing, one on the ground near her feet.

Tegwen waved once with a triumphant sneer on her face and then… the two were gone.

A couple minutes passed until Joey spoke the words of the undeniable truth. "Tristan lost."

* * *

It wasn't long until Aeron, Joey, and Tèa were sitting in the living room telling Atem, Mokuba, and Yugi what had happened to them on what was supposed to be a peaceful walk. After, Yugi and Atem recounted their adventures with the mailbox and the trashcan that could fly (Mokuba seemed to have gained a new hobby during their story- staring at Erica). Both parties of three were shocked at the other's tale.

"It's sad, really." Tèa said. "It seems were getting behind."

"How? We're playin' defense?" Joey inquired.

"Yeah, but what each of what we're defending is precious and none of it should get into the enemies hands." Atem answered.

Aeron sighed and looked over at her unconscious best friend. "I don't remember in the series you guys _ever _had this rotten of luck."

_

* * *

7_


	32. Triple Madness

****

Finished this just before 12 Am... January 2nd... Happy New Year... sorry this took me so long... this would probably be the time i'd give an excuse, but i just dont feel like any excuse i make would be good enough... mainly because now i've been at this for over a freakin' year! *sigh* not that i mind, but ya know, didnt expect that... heheh...

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 32**_

_**Triple Madness **_

"Seven." The emerald pyramid glowed. It sat on its grey, stone pedestal in the dark room. "Seven soul sparks gathered. Good job, Tegwen." Margherita caressed the green pyramid. Sure it wasn't a lot, but now her plan was officially in motion.

Tegwen giggled. She was standing in the corner hugging an "unconscious" Tristan- who looked awake and would actually be counted as awake if his open eyes weren't dark and void of life.

Blodwen, who was also in the room, turned to her sister. "Thank you for your assistance, Tegwen. You can take your new toy and play with it now."

The said Bogle squealed in delight and ran off, dragging her toy behind her. Blodwen rolled her eyes and shook her head, but smiled all the same. She liked it when her family was happy.

"What's so great about having seven Soul Sparks?" Logan inquired. He stood with Kara and Sara in the room. He had his hands behind his head in Anime fashion. "Not nearly enough to count as many."

"The good thing about having seven Soul Sparks in a pyramid is having seven Soul Sparks, Logan." Margherita replied shortly.

Logan scowled. "I would've had more if that stupid girl didn't beat me." He muttered angrily.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Forget about her will you!"

Logan crossed his arms over his chest and hunched his shoulders. "Shut up!"

Kara walked over to the cold, stone wall and placed her head against the surface gently. "It is so tempting just to hit this wall with my head and get it all over with and done." She murmured to herself.

* * *

"BAKURA! GIVE ME BACK THAT SCREWDRIVER OR I SWEAR TO RA-"

Marik watched with clear amusement as Ryou chased his Yami around the house trying to get his screwdriver back from said Yami. They had been at this for about three hours.

It had been six days since the incident happened, when the fight began. So far everything had been depressing… but, of course, you hadn't seen any of Ryou, Bakura, and Marik's story since then. It had been quite… interesting.

Marik saw Bakura running his way. The Egyptian smirked and stuck a foot out. Bakura tripped over it, and, before he fell, Marik snatched the screwdriver. The teen didn't want the Yami to get stabbed from the weapon because of him.

Bakura fell to the ground with an "oof". Ryou stopped in his tracks and giggled behind his hand.

Bakura growled. "Marik, you're a dead man!" the Yami jumped up and made a move toward Marik, but the blonde pointed the pointy end of the screwdriver at his chest.

"Take one more step and _you're_ a dead man, Bakura!" Marik said.

Bakura glanced down at the screwdriver. He then eyed a butter knife on the coffee table in the middle of the living room- the room in which they were in at the moment. He snatched it up and pointed the knife part **(Marik: *looks at Hotaru questionably* Me: I don't know anymore.) **atMarik. "You want a duel Marik?" Bakura questioned with a smirk.

"Arrrgh! Ye willing to die already?" the Egyptian asked in response. Ryou giggled. Bakura sweatdrppoed. Thus, they began a duel.

Ryou watched the two, sniggering at different intervals. In the beginning of this adventurous tale, the white haired teen didn't think he'd enjoy- he actually thought he'd hate- having his Yami back. But, when Marik came into the picture, his life never seemed more interesting. The two were hilarious. He seemed to always be smiling and laughing…

"Aaaarrrgh!" Marik exclaimed. "Ye be poxed by the bilge-sucking dog in the keelhaul!"

Ryou face-palmed, laughing. "Marik," he said in between laughs, "even in pirate speak, that made no sense what-so-ever!"

Bakura faltered for a second. He looked at Marik and shook his head, "You're an idiot. Here's some pirate terms for you: Ye addlepate better belay that talk handsomely 'fore t' cap'n decides t' flog ya!"

"Hey, that was good!" Marik chirped. "How'd you learn all that?"

"Belay that talk! We're in t' middle o' a duel!" Bakura scolded. Then the duel began again. It ended, though, ten minutes later when Ryou collapsed on the floor- still conscience- from laughing so hard… which showed a freaked Marik and a confused and shocked Bakura.

After the two helped Ryou gain his breath, Marik and Bakura signed a type of peace treaty so they wouldn't cause Ryou to fall down again- this was just their names on a _Change of Heart_ Duel Monsters card. And, about two hours later, the three had decided to go out to a café somewhere and have lunch.

* * *

Inside a 50/60's café, called _Lizzy's_, Bakura was staring suspiciously at an old jukebox.

Ryou glanced over at his Yami and rolled his eyes. "Bakura, it's just a jukebox. Don't kill it." Ryou then added in a murmur, "Like you did the toaster last week…"

Bakura just dismissed Ryou's statement with a wave of his hand. He continued to stare at the weird object.

"What did he do to the toaster last week?" Marik asked. He was sipping on a root beer float. The Egyptian sat on a wooden bench that was connected to the table that he and his near albino friend were sitting at. Marik sat opposite Ryou, who sat on the other wooden bench on the other side of the table.

"He brutally killed it one morning with a fork." Ryou replied, having a bit of his chocolate malt. "Not like I didn't see it coming. Ever since he got here, when he'd see it, pass it, use it, whatever, he'd be muttering things like: 'it's evil...', 'it's planning to take over the world… I called dibs on that!', and what not."

Marik cocked his head to the side. "You don't seem all too emotional about the subject. Did you not care if he destroyed your toaster or not?"

"Oh, I was mad." Ryou replied. "But," a very Bakura-like smirk appeared on the innocent Hikari's face, "I think I punished him enough."

Marik's eyes widened. He gulped. _Remind me to never cross you! _He thought.

Five minutes passed and Bakura was still glaring at the jukebox. Ryou watched his Yami with a bit of concern- for the jukebox and his wallet. "Marik, I got a feeling he's not gonna come here if that music machine isn't murdered. What're we gonna do?" he turned to look at his friend to find out he wasn't there. "Marik? Where'd you go?" he peered around for his friend. He finally saw him heading toward the old jukebox and Bakura. _What's he up to?_

Ryou's question had been answered almost instantly. When Marik got to the music player, he placed a quarter in it pressed a button. Bakura watched in awe while Ryou watched in confusion.

A fast drumbeat hit their ears first before the sound of a guitar playing followed. Ryou recognized the song instantly and pondered how Marik knew it- the boy _did_ live in an underground cell in Egypt for 16 years of his life. Ryou's conclusion in the end was the radio. The song was I Love Rock 'n Roll by: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Marik began dancing to it. He soon grabbed Bakura's wrist and cheered: "C'mon Bakura! Dance with me!"

Bakura tried his hardest to get out of the teen's grip. "Hell no!"

Marik just laughed. "Oh! C'mon! It'll be fun!"

"Marik, you're scaring me!"

"Dance, Kitty, dance!"

"I f*cking said: hell no! And don't call me kitty!"

Ryou watched the two from his seat. Marik was twirling Bakura around while Bakura was trying to escape. The white haired Hikari began to giggle, which soon turned into full-blown laughter.

Yes, life outside their tiny group might be dull, but his wasn't. His two friends were always able to keep him entertained- even if one wasn't meaning to.

Yeah, you read right. Ryou considered Bakura as a friend by now. After he got his own body and became- at least 80%- human, the thief seemed to become more tolerable. Bakura actually seemed to grow on him, really. And, when paired with Marik, he was truly fun to hang around.

Just when the song was over and Bakura's and Marik's dance number was over, a new song began to play. But not from the jukebox. It was the tinkling of the old, decorative Coke bottles that rested on the shelf over the counter when they tapped each other. Ryou took no notice of it but turned back to his chocolate malt… which was vibrating. He glanced around the room to see the pictures on the walls, the drinks on the tables, the windows that gave the occupants of the café a view of the outside world shaking, quivering, quaking; the whole coffee shop seemed to be in a state of restlessness.

Ryou gazed back over at his two friends, but they seemed to be staring past him, out the window. Before he could turn to see what it was that caught their eye, there was the breaking of glass, waitresses shrieking, and he, Ryou, himself, being sucked backward out of his seat and into a world that was all a blur.

* * *

"RYOU‼‼" Bakura and Marik yelled at the same time. Not caring for the glass that covered the wooden floors, they ran toward the gaping hole that was once a glass door. They watched the small whirlwind that took Ryou turn a corner. The whirlwind looked like the one made by the Tasmanian Devil himself.

The two stepped out the "door" cautiously, so to not get cut by any glass fragments, and started on their way to find their friend. But, as they passed a tree, Marik looked up to see a dark figure looming above them, crouched in the tree.

"Bakura, look!" Marik shook the Yami's arm to get his attention and pointed up to the thing in the tree. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Bakura replied. The thing hid in the shadows. Something he found intriguing. However, that little red flag went off in his head. "Forget it Marik, keep walking."

But the creature wasn't going to have any of that. It jumped down from its perch and landed on its feet on the ground. Still covered in a shadowy veil, it pulled out something to show to the boys.

"Hey! That's my root beer float!" Marik yelled out of anger. The whatever-it-was dashed off with the sugary treat. "Hey! Give me that back you thief!"

Bakura watched his friend run off chasing the float bandit in confusion. "Yo, Marik! What about Ryou?" he called after him.

"You go on ahead!" the Egyptian called back. "Let me deal with this thief for ya!" he continued following the robber around a corner and was gone.

_He'd rather rescue his candy than his friend… _Bakura thought as he sweatdropped. "Obviously a trap, but who am I to stop a man in love with the sugar-highness?" Bakura asked himself. The ex-thief sighed and went back to finding Ryou.

Bakura was just about to turn a corner when he saw something glitter on the ground out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked down. It was a spoon. A shiny spoon.

On impulse, he picked it up. Shinies **(Hotaru's Dictionary: **_**shinies**_** {SHY-KNEES} **_**n.:**_** a category name for all things shiny- ex. **_**Bakura liked shinies.**_**) **were his one weakness. He gulped.

Bakura's eyes darted to another place on the ground, but, sadly, what they saw was a whole trail of shinies. _Oh, God!_ That was his last thought before his mind went blank and he began following the trail, picking up each shiny as it came along. Later, he'd be stabbing himself for what he'd done.

* * *

Ryou felt himself drop to the ground and landing on his butt. Sadly, the world around him still wouldn't stop moving! He put a hand to the side of his head to give the emotional security of balance. **(Ryou: You mean I felt more balanced? Me: Yup!) **

It took a second, but soon he could see clearly again. As almost immediately as that happened, he took a look at his surroundings. Everything had gone black and purple.

_Great_… He thought._ Should've seen this coming…_

Ryou stood up, brushing his clothes off, and just stood there. "Whoever you are, just come out. I know what's going on." He called out.

"Just ruin the fun, why don't'cha?" a voice said sarcastically behind him. Ryou yelped as he turned around swiftly, only to lose his footing and end up on the ground again.

He saw a strange creature with wings and a tunic that had a bluish rope tied around the waist. Going by the voice, he assumed the creature was a girl. This… girl… was sitting on the ground in front of him Indian-style with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Who- and for that matter, _what_- are you?" Ryou asked. He scooted back a few inches to put more space between him and the inhuman girl.

The creature-girl stuck up her index finger as if she was counting off the questions, which she was. "Eirwen," middle finger joined the other, "Bogle." She put her hand down again. "Let's play a game."

_Well, _Ryou thought,_ also knew __**that**__ was coming. Guess I have no choice. Hopefully I win. _

"Sure." Ryou agreed, but he really didn't want to. "Let me guess. This is a shadowgame; if I lose, I lose my soul-slash-_Soul Sparks_; and, if I win, you're sent to the shadows or something like that?"

Eirwen opened her mouth and closed it again. "How'd you-" she finally managed to get out, but Ryou cut her off.

"My friends have dealt with this once before with probably your sister." He said.

There was a pause. "Which of my sisters was it?" Eirwen asked.

"I think Joey recalled hearing the name Tegwen at some point."

"Ah. Little sister. Well. If she can win hers," Eirwen declared, standing up, "then I can too!"

"Well," Ryou countered, standing up himself, "you're going to have to beat me to do that. And I'm not about to let that happen."

* * *

Marik had finally caught up with the float thief in an alleyway near Wal-Mart. He stopped to breathe before he confronted the guy. After catching his breath, Marik stood up straight and proud. "Alright, you! Give me back the root beer float and nobody gets hurt!"

The shadowy article pulled out the candy and tossed it, glass and all, against the nearest brick wall. Marik's eyes flashed and he clenched his teeth. "Tha- purple…" just as the Egyptian was beginning his sentence, the scenery changed around him. He knew this scene. He was somewhere in the area of the Shadowrealm… or whatever the guys said that everyone ended up being taken to.

"Game." He heard. _What the? _Marik thought. He turned around to find a thing standing behind him. But, what was it?

"Who are you?" Marik asked the creature.

The creature pointed to itself. "Eilwen."

Marik blinked. "What are you?" he then asked.

"Bogle." Eilwen replied.

A sweatdrop formed on Marik's head._ She… he… __**it**__ is apparently not much of a talker…_

"Game."

Marik stared at Eilwen for a second. The thing wanted to play a game with him. Well, _alright. _He thought. _Can't be that bad. If the thing can't talk, it'll probably be an easy opponent._

"Alright." Marik replied to Eilwen's short demand. "I'll play."

A smirk appeared on the Bogle's face.

* * *

"Wow. How many shiny things can be on the earth?" Bakura asked himself as he picked up another- _That's what? The 5,000? I've got 50 bucks now if it is!_- shiny penny.

As he was gawking at the part of his load that he could hold in his hands, Bakura ran into something… something.

He really couldn't identify it.

Anyways, after the soft impact, Bakura shook his fluffy, white head and looked around for the said "something". He found it as a strange…

"What the hell are _you_?‼" the ex-thief rudely blurted out to the odd creature in front of him.

The creature had a crop brownish hair on top of its yellowish head. It was wearing a boy's tunic- so obviously it was male. The leathery wings that protruded from his back were a bit larger than what the others had described of the creatures they've dealt with.

The strange boy-thing scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, aren't you the polite one. I could ask the same thing of you. Are you a boy, girl… or both?"

Growling, Bakura threw a shiny penny at the kid. The thing barely even winced as the metal made impact just above his eye.

"_Real mature_." The boy sarcastically stated. "I take it you _are_ male."

"That still didn't answer my question." Bakura spit on the ground. "What. _The hell_. Are you?"

"I'm a Bogle. The name's Nudd." Nudd replied, trying to ignore the fact that his rival just spit.

Bakura snorted. "Stupid name, stupid thing… now, what do you want?"

"A game." Nudd retorted shortly.

Bakura's kitty ears perked up. "I'm interested…"

* * *

In an instant, he was standing on a giant chess board. Ryou peered around. He saw that he was on the side with darker painted pawns. These pawns were life-size and remarkably familiar to him. Ryou closed his eyes and tried to remember where he had seen these particular chess pieces. It didn't take him long.

Ryou opened his eyes and stared blankly at Eirwen. "Say, do you like Harry Potter?"

Eirwen made a soft and small squeal, but then regained her composure. "Yeah, so?"

Ryou just shook his head. "Nothing, just wondering."

Eirwen: "Alright! Game start!" she pointed over to one of her pawns. "Pawn to E4!"

_If this is going to be like Harry Potter, _Ryou thought,_ then there's a good chance it's going to be exactly like Harry Potter. Might as well, check._

Ryou stood in one of the knights' places, the only _open _space. From his spot, he pointed to a pawn. "You there, D5."

The pawn moved on its own to the spot. His opponent's pawn brought out two swords and swung them at his pawn, smashing it to pieces. Debris flew back toward Ryou, but didn't hit him, but he was left in a coughing fit from the dust. _Yes, Hermione, I think this is gonna be __**exactly**__ like Wizard's Chess._

* * *

The ground began to shake, the earth began to rumble, giant walls of rock burst from the floor and surrounded him. If you looked from a bird's-eye view, you'd see a maze.

Marik blinked. Peering around, he found he could only move forward. If he went any other way, he'd ram into a wall. That would not be good.

Along the walls, torches hung and gave the passageways light. As Marik looked around, he spotted a piece of paper hanging on the wall underneath a torch. He walked over to it and ripped it off the partition. The paper was old and brittle. Marik could barely make out the faded scrawl on the yellowed sheet.

_Make your way through the maze and to the end. Gather three artifacts while doing so. Whoever reaches the end first with their three artifacts wins. Also, watch out for traps, creatures, deceiving spells. _

_Eilwen_

Oh, so this is what the game was. Marik could win this easily! Thus, he set off.

* * *

"The game is called _Ring Pass Not_." Nudd explained. "You have four tiles to choose from and you have to place them in the ring. Every time you pick one up, another tile appears in its place from where you got it. Each tile has two halves. The left half has to match either color or symbol to the one on its left and same for the right. Every tile has to fit in the ring precisely- no red stellas with blue sols, for example- in order for you to open the lock that holds your column up here. Each time you complete a correct ring, you go closer to the ground."

Bakura looked at the four tiles that lay in an indention in the earth he was standing on. In fact, he wasn't even on ground- technically he was, yet wasn't. Nudd had raised himself and Bakura up on columns that he kind of grew out of the concrete below him. Around the column was a dark purple and black wall. Along the wall were rectangular slots to put the tiles in.

Still peering at the tiles, Bakura cocked an eyebrow. "And what happens if I don't succeed at completing a ring?"

Nudd smirked. "Outside that dark wall are three red orbs. Each time you complete a bad ring, those orbs will spit out fire toward you. If I end up winning the five rounds we have, you'll be burned alive." Nudd licked his lips. "Screw the shadows, I'm hungry for blood!" eyes flashing, Nudd let the darkness fill in the space between the columns.

Darkness crept in slowly. Before Bakura could see only the eyes of Nudd, Nudd inquired, "Any further questions?"

"Cant think of a one." Bakura muttered, slightly- pardon me- pissed at the thing for, to those who might not know what's going on, no odd reason, to them.

"Alright game start!" Nudd shouted. The darkness engulfed him. The only light Bakura had was that from the glowing tiles.

* * *

Marik turned left, then right, then back out of a dead end, then left again… he felt as though he were going in circles. He really didn't like it.

He finally turned a corner he _knew _he hadn't turned already. There was a dead end there, but something else as well. A giant plant that had to have a stem as wide as a sycamore trunk and a bud as big as three/four school buses stood there. Spiny, prickly, thorny, roots pillared out and practically blocked the exit behind him (they must've moved there recently because he was able to **enter**). He didn't dare climb over them; the thorns were bigger than him!

What really scared him were the roots. They moves, rolled like waves all on their own. Next came the giant yellow bud atop the stem. Three huge black dots decorated the big bud. But, the freaky thing _about_ the bud was that when it opened, enormous, sharp, glistening white teeth was what he saw.

_Great, _Marik thought, _an evil giant flower. Now I've seen everything._

The bud grinned at Marik before snapping at him. Marik jumped out of the way. Somehow, he was having déjà vu, he just didn't know why.

It took a bit of running and dodging snaps, but he believed he finally was in a safe place (behind the carnivorous flower). The bud twisted its stem searching for Marik, but it never was able to find him, only because, unlike an owl, it's "head" couldn't turn all the way around its "body". Marik slumped down, back against the wall, with a sigh of relief. He was safe, for a while.

It hit him.

Marik, since he was calm enough to think, remembered where he had seen this before. An old video game of Yugi's. _Jak and Daxter_. Inside the game there was this big, blue flower you had to fight. No wonder he had déjà vu.

_Wait, why am I thinking of this? Shouldn't I find a way to beat the thing? _Sadly, unlike Jak, he couldn't run up to the thing and kick it into submission- and by that, he means kill it- he wasn't _that_ athletic or strong or… well, anything else. The fact was, that thing terrified him.

_So, why not find a way to stay away from it _and _kill it, hm? Surely you can._ Before Marik had time to think though, he noticed a thorny root lifted high above his head come crashing down.

* * *

So far, he was winning. Ryou had the upper hand in the chess match, but the game could turn around, he knew. Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, the silverette planned his next move.

Ryou stood on a black square around the middle of the chess board. He had to move himself now, because he was right in the line of fire of a pawn that would get him on his opponent's next turn. Since he was a knight, he moved in an "L" formation to a spot that was occupied by yet another pawn. Ryou gently poked it, and it crumbled to dust. Fanning the dirt away, Ryou took possession of the space as his own.

Eirwen's turn.

"Hm…" she hummed in thought. After a minute she snapped her fingers and made a decision. "Castle to-" the rest was blocked out by the scraping sound the enormous castle tower made when it moved to the spot Eirwen said. After it too a pawn of his out, Ryou began to worry. Throughout the game he had done pretty well, but he had also been looking out for his own safety, thus, coincidently, leaving some of his chess pieces in bad and deadly positions.

_You know, after all the times I've played chess, I've never done this… badly. _Ryou mused, disappointed in his-self.

* * *

Marik jumped out of the way. The root smashed into the ground not two feet away from him. Adrenaline pumping, Marik decided that if he lived through this, he was going to take a _looong _vacation in the country. Somewhere secluded where he couldn't get caught in the middle of all the craziness.

Quickly, he ran over to the root and used the thorns to haul himself up to where he was sitting atop the green vegetable. The root started to lift itself again, and Marik, as it did so, made his way to the root's tip. Sooner than he expected, however, the root had stopped right in from of the plant's "face". The flower atop the stem grinned, showing its teeth, and opened its mouth wide.

"Oh, no! I don't think so!" Marik yelled and scrambled higher up the root. The bud bit down on the root where Marik once was, making a squelching sound. There was a slight pause before the bud let go of the root- making it jerk around violently- and howling out in pain. Blood began to drip to the ground from its jaws.

As soon as the root had stopped moving, Marik made a dashing climb to the tip. When he got there, he grabbed one of the smaller thorns and broke it off. The plant howled again, but it went ignored. Marik dropped the thorn to the ground. Then he turned his attention to the tip of the root itself. Breaking off another thorn-earning himself another howl- he took the shaper end and jabbed it into the tip of the root. He tore it the rest of the way off. The Flower screamed in pain this time. Trying to block the sound out, Marik fiddled with the root until he tore off a string off the root. Then he stuck the sharp end of his thorn inside the open wound.

With the shrillest shriek you ever heard, the plant began to thrash around in pain. When he was close to the ground, Marik jumped off. He snatched up the thorn he dropped and ducked to avoid a flailing root. Marik prayed thanks his vegetable string was stick and stretchy, for he had plans for it. He took one end of the string and stuck it to the rock wall, giving it a tug to test it for strength and ability to stay on; he saw that it was good. Then he stuck the thorn on the side of the string he thought would give it the best trajectory for his target and lightly stuck that part of the sting to the ground where it would come loose if he tugged hard enough on it. Marik then gave a whistle.

The bud stopped moving. It snapped it's "head" toward Marik. Grinning, it opened its mouth wide. "Bon appétit!" Marik announced and simply gave the string a sharp tug. The thorn flew into the enemy's mouth and into the darkness.

The bud paused. It frowned. There was a gurgling sound and blood began to pour out of its mouth. If Marik's hunch was correct, he had hit the heart. The bud swayed and fell to the ground with a loud _thud_.

A steam rose from the flower and, soon, it covered the area. When it had dispersed, the flower was nowhere to be found. But, there was something left behind. Tip-toeing through the blood, Marik made his way over to said object and found it to be a golden rose, floating in midair. Guessing this was the artifact he was supposed to get, Marik grabbed it up and merrily made his way out of the dead end and back to the maze.

One down, two to go.

* * *

Bakura was proud of himself. He had made it through the first two rounds of his Shadow Game without getting burned. Most people would think a simple game like this would be no sweat, but Bakura, unlike most people, wasn't good at puzzles. He was smart, yes, very smart, but puzzles have always stumped him. Why do you think he chose to be sealed in the Ring?

Ok, third round. He couldn't wait to see the blank spaces for him to fill- WAIT! Why were there colors inside of the right half of one block and the left of the other between two blocks? Bakura studied the abnormity for a second. Well, about a minute actually, because it took him that long to realize the weird rainbow hue in those spaces meant that the same color of slice had to be placed there.

Alright, he had four tiles to choose from. One was red on both halves and had a picture of a sun and a star on it- in that order. The second had a green star and a yellow globe on it- in that order. The third had a yellow star and a green moon, and the fourth was blue with two moons.

Bakura thought aloud, "Hmm, so, I could start with the red here," he took the red tile and placed it into one of the slots, another tile appeared- red on the left, with a star, green blue on the right with a globe, "hey, that could fit next to the red in the 'same color only' place!" Bakura placed that tile next to his previously laid tile. After a few more moves, Bakura found that, even though it was a puzzle, _Ring Pass Not_ was pretty easy.

* * *

Ryou was in a bad position. A bad position indeed. He was near the end of the game, in fact he and his opponent each had only a few pieces left, but he was trapped. He couldn't move at all. There was a pawn in front of him, a castle to the left of him, and a knight to the right. He couldn't figure out how that happened though…

Really, the only piece of his he could move without losing it was a silly pawn. So, he moved it. But he had a feeling that, no matter what he did, this fight was going to be hard to win…

* * *

Marik was getting tired, fast. He couldn't keep running like this much longer, especially with that golden flower weighing him down. Marik stopped to catch his breath at a corner. But, the rest didn't last long, for he heard a sound coming from around the said corner. Marik peered around the bend to find... the artifact floating there out in the open… _well, this oughtta be easy…_

Marik walked toward the golden object, though, he didn't get far. A giant pendulum blade swung right at him; Marik barely dodged by jumping backwards. _Never mind…_

Many other traps were activated, now that the first one was swinging deadly fast. He had to get to that artifact, yet how? Marik studied each trap, trying to figure out how to do this.

Well, each trap was set close to the other, so no stopping and resting. He'd just have to make a run for it and make the timing perfect… easy enough…

_Alright, _Marik took a deep breath, _here… we… GO! _Marik ran on the upward swing of the pendulum. Dodging darts from the walls, jumping over spikes sticking up from the ground, and many other things that made him feel like Indiana Jones.

Once across, Marik picked up the artifact, finding it to be a golden knife, and placed it with the golden rose, in his jacket pocket. Now, he had to deal with the dilemma of getting back across…

Just then, the wall to the left of him opened up. Each wall after that folded a different way, making a straight path. Realizing that this would be much easier than going across the 'death field' again, Marik sauntered down the path.

At the end was the finish line.

Wait…

He only had two objects…

To win, he needed three….

Why-?

!

Eilwen sat atop the silver finishing gate, three objects in hand, a smirk on her face.

Marik's eyes widened in horror.

He lost.

He had two objects.

She had three.

He… lost…

* * *

Ryou had only a few moves left, he apprehended, before he either won or lost. At this point, he couldn't tell. The chess game had started to stress him, stress him to a point where he couldn't think. Already, he had made at least four stupid moves, almost deliberately putting his pawns in danger. He reasoned it was to save his own life, either move then in a deadly spot, or himself, but those losses contributed to his fate in the game all the same…

What should he do next? If he moved his castle, he could check the opposing king, although Eirwen would just move her king and place him somewhere else. Perhaps right on top of him! He was in the king's range… Should he play it cautious?

He could move his pawn and take out the opposing knight… nothing would happen if he did that… no counter attack could be made by the enemy.. Yea, that seemed like a good idea…

That's exactly what he did. With that knight out of the way… wait… what was Eirwen doing?

"King to-" again the spaces ID was disguised by the scraping of piece against board. Eirwen's King knocked out his other pawn and put his castle in open fire for the next turn.

_What to do? What to do?_ Ryou thought for a moment. _Ah, I know!_ Ryou played a move he thought was great, a winning move. One that saved his castle. But, Eirwen only moved her King to another square- a safe one. You see, Ryou made a move that would check her king if she attacked his castle.

Now, with his other pieces safe, Ryou decided to take out one of Eirwen's pawns. Moving in an L shape, Ryou took over that pawn's space. But, sadly, he forgot about something. The King.

It was when Eirwen demanded the king take over Ryou's space that he realized this.

From then on, Ryou referred to this day as the day he was sentenced the guillotine…

* * *

Bakura and Nudd were tied at the moment. Each on their last ring. Nudd hadn't made one mistake, but was slightly slower. Bakura made a few mistakes- barely dodging each flame he encountered- but was slightly faster. Neither one knew how they ended up tied at these paces, but they had.

In the end, Bakura had won. This was one of the few times that speed beat precision… that no matter how many mistakes you made, you still Aced the test because you were the first to finish.

The shadowy surroundings dissolved back into the familiar Domino scene. Bakura looked over at Nudd- whose expression was a cross of genuine surprise and terrible realization- and smirked.

"Oh, yes, I just thought of another question." Bakura sneered. "What happens if I complete my five rings before you?"

Nudd lowered his head and cursed. Muttering angrily, he replied, "It was rigged to give me the same punishment. But I didn't think I would lose!"

"Hn. Yet, you did!" Bakura stated, the leer on his face growing twice in size.

The three fire orbs that had surrounded Nudd's pillar were the only thing that remained from their Shadow Game. The fire orbs shot searing hot flames out toward Nudd. As the blaze engulfed him, he screamed out in pain. Then, nothing was left of him.

Bakura smirked, glad he won and wondering how Marik and Ryou were doing. Had they gotten into a Shadow Game too? Bakura hoped not. But, one should never set their hopes too high.

Bakura stood in place for a moment. Thinking. Undisturbed. That is, until two figures appeared on the ground not to far from him. He glared their way, wanting to scare them off, but froze.

They looked a lot like that Nudd guy… they were Bogles too…

One of them blinked. "Well, Eilwen, looks like Brother Nudd lost."

Eilwen nodded her head (Bakura new they were girls… their chests weren't flat…that's how he knew).

"Well, at least we won! Seems like this has put a damper on the boys' reputation, huh? All the girls have won and yet, the first boy of us Bogles loses… how pathetic." The other Bogle said.

Eilwen nodded again.

"And we got this little beauty too!" the speaking Bogle held up a violet pyramid.

_Ryou's pyramid!_ Bakura thought in shock. The two Bogles disappeared, leaving Bakura in realization:

Both Bogles won right? So both Ryou _and _Marik had…

…had lost…

_

* * *

__37_


End file.
